Hungarian economy grows by 3.4 per cent
May 15th, 2015Commenting on the latest GDP data, a conservative analyst is optimistic about Hungary’s economic prospects. His left-wing counterpart admits fast growth but at the same time fears that the increase in economic output has no impact on the lives of poorer Hungarians.
According to the latest statistics from the Central Statistical Office, in the first quarter of 2015 Hungarian GDP grew by 3.4 per cent year-on-year.
The Hungarian economy is in good shape, Csaba Szajlai comments in Magyar Hírlap. The conservative analyst recalls that after a lost decade marked by stagnation, the Hungarian economy has been growing fast for two years now. This development is particularly promising because growth is stimulated by increasing internal demand rather than a credit boom, Szajlai notes. As economic output is on the rise, the deficit is under control and public debt is slowly decreasing, Hungary is again becoming a target for investors, Szajlai thinks. In conclusion, he remarks that Hungary will need more than one or two years of fast growth to start catching up with more developed economies in Europe.
In Népszabadság, Bence Kriván admits that the Hungarian GDP data is indeed compelling. But the left-wing columnist slams pro-government pundits who feed the public with the image of an affluent Hungary. Kriván thinks one could only be satisfied if the same reality were perceived by a citizen of Roma origin on a government work scheme, and the spectacles of the Minister of the Economy.