Tibor Navracsics: Social Crisis in Hungary

Created: 8th November, 2007 17:01 | Last updated: 11th November, 2007 16:02	print	send

Mr Navracsics gave a brief summary of the relevant domestic affairs, detailing the government's austerity policies and their consequences, the manifesto of Fidesz which is scheduled to be unveiled this December and the social referendum initiated by the party.

The leader of the parliamentary group of Fidesz stated that Hungary was going in the wrong direction, the socialist-liberal government's policies were mistaken and caused a widespread social crisis characterized by 3 million people living below the poverty line and an increase in the level of unemployment, now at 400,000. He also reminded the foreign diplomats that real wages in Hungary fell by 6,5% this year, and that further austerity measures included in the budget plan for the year 2008 would also aggravate the social difficulties.

Mr Navracsics spoke of the manifesto of Fidesz that is currently being written and claimed it would not be an election manifesto as the next parliamentary elections in Hungary are only scheduled for the year 2010, but rather a document of basic values and principles, similar to the one German CDU is preparing as well. A conference will be organized this December to unveil the manifesto.

Mr Zsolt Németh, chairman of the committee on foreign affairs told the diplomats that Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union considered it unacceptable to name Sándor Laborc, former undergraduate of Moscow's Dzerzhinsky Academy as head of the National Security Office (NBH). The MP of the opposition party emphasized that Fidesz supported the government's foreign policy in its commitment to help NATO stabilize Afghanistan.

As well as briefing the guests on the position of Fidesz and Hungary regarding the issue of Kosovo and energy security, Mr Németh also spoke of the recent events in Slovakia.

Representatives of all embassies accredited in Hungary had been invited to the meeting.