„Hungary is returning to talks with the International Monetary Fund - except it’s not.
This, in a nutshell, was the somewhat bizarre communication from Budapest last night, muddying a commitment from Hungary’s economy ministry that talks with the IMF would likely resume in the Autumn. (...)
If you’re a little baffled by what Hungary is up to, join the club. We’ll keep it simple then by recapping the story so far. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
1. Viktor Orban fights the Hungarian election on a tax cutting and job creation ticket, promising to renegotiate the country’s deficit cutting committments with the IMF.
2. Orban wins a landslide victory in April and becomes prime minister. But officials quickly put their foot in it by comparing the economy to Greece.
3. Orban unveils a 29-point economic plan, including a controversial ft 200bn financial sector levy. He promises to meet this year’s 3.8 per cent deficit target, helping to soothe investors’ nerves.”