Hungary Left and right wing leaders voice similar assessments of gov't in 2016

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, head of the left wing DK party, and Gabor Vona, chief of the right wing Jobbik party presented surprisingly similar assessments of the past year at a news conferences on Wednesday.

Gyurcsany cited the governing Fidesz party's failure to achieve a valid referendum and a constitutional amendment on migration in 2016. Fidesz, he said, "has been using the migrant issue to incite fear" instead of governing and offering an effective migration policy that guaranteed security.

He acknowledged that some of Hungary's economic indicators are favorable but pointed out that growth has been slower than elsewhere and Hungary was now one of the three poorest nations in the European Union.

He pointed to low wages, the exodus of hundreds of thousands of young people seeking work elsewhere, the dire circumstances of the health care system and excessive poverty.

Vona charged that the administration had been unable to resolve any major problems and pointed to major difficulties with health care, education, and corruption that have led to so many people to leave the country.

He charged that the fundamental problem was underfunding, triggered in part by corruption which was suctioning off the money needed for vital improvements.

Instead of acting, Vona said, the government had subordinated every issue to the migration question, which, he said, had been left unresolved because the government continued to allow non-EU residents to settle in Hungary if they purchased 300,000 euros(312,988 U.S. dollars) settlement bonds, something Jobbik opposed.

The Fidesz party issued a brief statement suggesting that the Jobbik party has been drifting away from the radical right policies supported by its voters.

If we are going to assess the year, Fidesz wrote, we need to point out that right wing Vona and left wing Gyurcsany are on a common platform ever since Vona voted against the constitutional amendment that would have banned mass migration into Hungary. Endit