Thousands of people will resume protests against the economic crisis in Hungary this Saturday

July 16 () –

Thousands of people will take to the streets of Hungary this Saturday in a new episode of the protests of recent days against the austerity measures adopted by the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, in the face of the economic crisis derived in large part from the war in Ukraine, which has led it to take a significant turn both in its national economy and in its relations with Brussels.

After occupying a bridge in Budapest late on Friday, the organizers have announced new rallies in the capital for this coming night to protest against the rise in taxes and the cut in public spending estimated at 1,400 million euros announced by the Government.

These measures represent a radical turn in the policy of Orbán, who had promised important aid to the population after returning to power in 2010; a populist-style program that got him revalidated in the April elections.

“This will be the first real stress test of the Orban system,” said Peter Kreko, director of the Political Capital research institute in Budapest. “This shows that economic populism is finally reaching its limit,” he added.

Hungary’s dependence on Russia for most of its oil and gas consumption makes the country one of the most vulnerable in the European Union to a possible disruption of Russian supplies.

The forint has plunged almost 10% against the euro since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, the biggest drop among emerging market currencies, while the yield on five-year government bonds also exceeded 10% for the first time. once in a decade.

Orban is considering concessions to unlock more than 15 billion euros ($15.1 billion) of pandemic recovery funds that the European Union has frozen over concerns about corruption and the rule of law in the country.

On Friday night, Orban signed a government decree establishing a government anti-corruption task force. His cabinet has also discussed accepting the jurisdiction of the EU attorney general, both options inconceivable a few months ago.

“Viktor Orbán is playing an active role in this,” Hungary’s EU Funds Minister Tibor Navracsics told the Mandiner weekly. “He is the boss.”