Debt was one of the major issues this week, with several online publications pointing out that despite the government’s insistence that victories have been achieved on the debt-reduction front, the real numbers look disquieting. In major part due to the forint’s deprecation, the budget’s net total debt was at an all time high in September, official...

In Part II of our electoral law analysis we take a look at the more technical aspects of the new election law, analysing how changes to electoral system will affect seat distribution, voting behaviour and future majorities. We argue that Fidesz tinkers with the system in a way that will increase the likelihood of emerging victorious from a battle w...

Just in time to fuel another round of speculation about early elections, a new concept of Fidesz’ proposals for new electoral rules emerged, supplanting an earlier proposal, which is still languishing in committee.

The times call for an economically populist agenda, and Jobbik appears to be successfully adapting to this requirement. Drawing on a mix of its own xenophobic/anti-globalisation ideas, Fidesz’ previous opposition rhetoric, and traditional left-wing ideas, it is steadfastly attacking the government’s economic policies. At the same time, a careful pr...

What was only a quickly reversed idea a couple of weeks ago is now a reality: the flat tax will be suspended for at least a year. While the higher rate will be applied already at income levels that ideally should have been subject to the lower rate, this policy reversal is a move in the right direction. In Hungary, the flat tax has failed to delive...

On occasion, the government shows scant concern for legal certainty and the rule of law, thus encumbering long-term calculations of returns on investment with the looming possibility of arbitrary taxes or other explicitly or effectively punitive action.

The constitutional process is far from over: phase two is just about to begin. In the autumn the government parties will introduce the so-called cardinal (or supermajority) laws that will flesh out various areas that were only addressed in broad strokes by the Constitution.

The government is seeking fundamental change in the way work works in Hungary. It seeks to simultaneously increase labour supply, employment and the time each worker spends at work. The latter appears unnecessary: a comparative review of European working times reveals that those already in employment work more than the average European.

In a stunning policy reversal, the government was briefly contemplating last week the introduction of a solidarity tax, which in effect would mean the abandonment of its most treasured reform, the flat tax.

From plans to tinker with the election laws, over Swiss franc-based loans all the way to debates how political accountability could be turned into criminal liability, here are four significant events that turned a low-key season into an active one.