Government painted into a corner
September 16th, 2011A left-wing liberal commentator argues that the Orbán government has to choose between bad and worse policy options, because it set out on the wrong economic track in the first place. To reverse certain controversial policies would cause a loss of face, while to continue with them would only prolong the stagnation and postpone consolidation.
“The current government ended up with bad and worse options simply because of its own commitments. All the available alternatives will lead to conflicts in the short run, which may undermine social peace. In the long run, they will also worsen the country’s economic prospects,” the philosopher Zoltán Miklósi writes in the left liberal Szuverén.
Miklósi acknowledges that Orbán, “despite the achievements of the previous governments,” had to take over a country with an economy in very poor shape. The government can also hardly influence the negative global economic context.
Nonetheless, Miklósi blames the current economic hardships and dilemmas on what he believes are mistaken government policies, and contends that the latest disappointing macroeconomic data prove that “the economic policies pursued by PM Orbán and Economy Minister Matolcsy are a failure.”
Echoing the recommendations of both le