As of yesterday it looks like the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) has given a thumbs-down to an economic “action plan” floated last week by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. As always in Hungary, it’s hard to know if this rejection is final, or just the opening gambit in an endless round of jawboning. Still, just knowing that someone – in this case top Liberal Gábor Fodor – is threatening to cause serious trouble unless there is some serious reform of Hungary’s seriously screwed-up tax system is cause for some serious satisfaction.
From this report on the party’s weekend decision, it’s hard to determine if the Liberals are more pissed about the weakness of the proposed package, or the fact that they weren’t consulted on the package before it was rolled out. Meanwhile, the SZDSZ seems, as usual, to be as focused on issues like the environment and the situation of the Roma (Gypsy) minority rather than the (at least to me) more imminently pressing issue of saving the Hungarian economy from sinking further into the muck. But again, you also have to take what you can get, and hearing that the Liberals are going to play tough with their former Socialist coalition partners is good enough for now.
Let the games begin.