Fidesz has reached the middle of its four-year term, and its goal of quickly boosting growth and adding jobs has failed spectacularly. The Orbán government is unlucky of course, under pressure both from a weak international economic environment and the difficult legacy of preceding governments. But Fidesz has exacerbated the existing problems through mistakes of its own. Moreover, its approach towards making the budget more balanced is arousing popular ire. Though there are various critiques of the government’s policies, there is no clear alternative on offer that a coalition of opposition parties could agree on after 2014. Until then, Fidesz has two years to prove the only remaining promise of its policies: that in spite of all the setbacks it is laying the foundations for future growth.

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