Orban Struggles to Kickstart Hungarian Economy as Vote Nears

Hungary’s economic performance underwhelmed late last year as a slump in industrial production persisted, shrinking Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s room to reverse an opposition lead less than three months from key elections.

Gross domestic product increased 0.2% from the third quarter, the statistics office said Friday. That compared with a median estimate of 0.5% in a Bloomberg survey. The economy expanded just an annual 0.4% in the whole of last year. Barring one reading in early 2024, industrial activity has shrunk every month for the past three years.