Orban to Ditch Budget Austerity Before Toughest Ballot Test
- Pre-vote spending to be prioritized as opposition makes gains
- Investors have punished Hungary before, weakening the forint
Viktor Orban
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to rip up his budget-consolidation promises to unleash a wave of spending before what’s shaping up to be the toughest election of his more than decade-long rule, people familiar with the situation said. The forint erased gains against the euro.
The shift may come after the US presidential election in November and credit-rating reviews of the country’s fiscal health scheduled for later this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Hungary is rated at or near the lowest investment grade.