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New PM Viktor Orban believes he is promoting a "patriotic economic policy" and preserving economic independence by resisting some IMF and EU requirements. Especially in a tiff with them over a new bank tax, Orban insists that after October, Hungary can go it alone without the financial safety net afforded by following IMF/EU dictates.
FAIRCLOUGH: "It's an economic freedom fight," said a senior official in Mr.Orban's administration. "We are getting back the financial independence of the country."
Hungary's rebellion against the budget-cutting approach of the IMF and EU is an unwelcome development for leaders of the two organizations, who also are trying to enforce austerity programs for other governments, such as Greece's, that have been bailed out after amassing large public debts."
"No one should decide for us what we should do with the Hungarian economy. A state should be sovereign," said Agnes Naray-Szabo, a 26-year-old high school teacher who says she thinks Mr. Orban and his Fidesz Party have been doing a good job.
