A left-wing commentator accuses the government of incompetence in both forecasting and managing inflation. A government-friendly analyst, on the other hand, remarks that old age pensioners will be more than compensated for the rise in prices.
Hungarian press roundup by budapost.eu
As year-on-year inflation in August reached 4.9 per cent, Népszava’s Mikós Bonta finds it telling that Hungary is the EU country with the highest inflation rate this year, and that price hikes have systematically exceeded official expectations. What’s more, the timid and belated steps taken by the National Bank to raise its base interest rate have repeatedly proven ineffective, he suggests. Bonta finds it disingenuous for the government to try and scare voters away from the opposition by accusing it of intending to raise taxes, while it tolerates increasing inflation which is, in effect, a silent tax burden on the population.
On Index, Márton Nagy, the government’s chief financial expert explains that high inflation is a direct consequence of swift economic recovery with year-on-year GDP growth amounting to almost 18 per cent in August. The government’s job, he adds is to promote lasting growth, while reigning in inflation is the job of the National Bank.
On Világgazdaság, András Ferentzi reports that in November, old-age-pensioners will have their monthly allowances revised to bring them in line with the inflation rate. In addition, they will also receive a one-time ’premium’ of a maximum 22 thousand forints, as their share of the high GDP growth, he adds.
Featured photo illustration by Zoltán Balogh/MTI