Tolgyessy on Fodor's Free Democrats and Orban's proposals

Fodor is not the man to bring about serious reforms within the Free Democrats, and the Socialists will continue to govern with outside support. Orban's leaked remarks should have been the perfect opportunity for an open dialogue over the country's most serious problems. The Socialists missed this opportunity, it would seem, remaining that lies and campaign slogans will continue to dominate. Peter Tolgyessy spoke to hvg.hu.

hvg.hu: What are the issues we've failed to discuss, the things Orban has now brought into public discourse?

P.T.: How we can find the money needed to cut taxes. If we look at the budgets of comparable countries, it's clear that we spend to excess on pensions. Our ageing population has a role to play in this, as has the Socialists' policy of being friendly to pensioners, pensions which are themselves high compared to the wages of active workers, and then there are the hundreds of thousands who took disability retirement in the difficult employment conditions of the regime change. When the 'baby-boomers' of the 1950s start retiring, our problems will grow yet further. Any government that wants to cut spending could do so by at least temporarily switching pension payments to follow inflation.

Right now, we use Swiss indexing, which reflects growth in wages. We need to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of fixing pension payments to their current real level. But Ferenc Gyurcsany just attacked his opponent, presenting himself as the wight knight defending pensioners. Hoping to win votes, he did just what he has always condemned his opponent for doing. But that just means that lying is here to stay in our public life.

hvg.hu: Orban also talked about revisiting major investments.

P.T.: In 2002, the Socialists did nothing to cut back on Fidesz's high-spending government programme. They raised civil servants' salaries and increased pensions. And then they carried on with a huge motorway-building programme. This was far too much for the budget to bear. It's striking that Ireland and Finland took years to build motorways, but both countries caught up with the west quickly enough. We need to use EU funds wisely for significant investments. But growth doesn't come from concrete. Major infrastructural investments cannot be sacred cows. Nor can the family support system be ignored. Who should get money? What should we do with the social benefits system?

hvg.hu: How can politicians be forced to discuss these difficult questions, and how can they be stopped from lying or sweeping the problems under the carpet?

P.T.: Our politicians aren't going to start being more open just on their own initiative. But if the lying is not contained, then we are just making it harder for us to get out of our ditch. Only opinion formers and the press can force public figures to talk more honestly.