Hungary’s Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Friday urged immediate backing for his anti-crisis measures at a meeting of employer and employee representatives.
Gyurcsany asked the national interest reconciliation council (OET) to back the government’s basic guiding principles for tackling the economic crisis.
“Let us avoid taking any steps which would aggravate the crisis, let’s avoid doing anything to cut employment in the short term and let’s not borrow our way out of the crisis,” Gyurcsany said.
He said that tax cuts must go alongside a reduction in spending and measures should aim to stimulate growth.
He said in a global crisis, it was important to both retain the country’s ability to operate while improving competitiveness. Both aims require job creation, he said. Gyurcsany said that it is not possible to stay afloat on welfare and social benefits.
He added that broad national consensus was needed on the country’s future.
Speaking after the OET meeting, Gyurcsany said he wanted the public to reach a consensus on cutting state spending and tax on labour, as well as changes to the welfare system.
He said the extent to which cuts could be made to spending had to be weighed against costs such as diminished social security and social upheaval, and the government would take care in cutting spending.
Gyurcsany insisted that cutting tax on labour must be offset by tax hikes or spending cuts in order to keep a balance in the budget.
The aim of changing the welfare system is to encourage work, he said.
“Experts and employers demand larger spending cuts [than we have proposed], while employees consider we have already gone too far,” said Gyurcsany. We need an agreement, he said.