It’s not limited to the economists, either. The headline for one of our two Market Talk pieces in the Special Report dedicated to HR speaks for itself: “Focus for Temporary Market Shifts From Expansion to Cost Efficiency Amid Economic Uncertainties.” Our second Market Talk notes, “Mixed Messages Mark the Q2 Recruitment Story.”
Our regular HR Matters column calls upon recent market research that points to a “pessimistic majority,” whether among employees or employers. It also notes the recent S&P Global Ratings assessment of the Hungarian economy, which maintained its investment-grade ranking (that’s the good news) but revised its outlook from “stable” to “negative” (that’s the not-so-good news).
To be clear, we are not amid a significant recession. Equally, strong growth seems unlikely this year, whatever the government says. Indeed, the poor performance of Hungary’s industry could well hold the broader economy back. What underlies a lot of this is the apparent attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump to upend the global marketplace. The on-off nature of the tariffs is destabilizing, to say the least. No wonder the stock markets reacted the way they did last week.
Given all of this, it is noticeable how much the most upbeat statements reflect bilateral relations between Budapest and Washington (not a phrase you would have heard this time last year). U.S. interim chargé d’affaires Robert Palladino suggested a promising “golden age” for U.S.-Hungary relations may be on the horizon due to the strong rapport between the two countries’ leaders during a conversation with Gladden Pappin, head of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, on April 8.
Strikingly, that exact phrase has also been rolled out by Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, on several occasions, not least on Feb. 13, when the U.S.-based Diligent, a provider of governance, audit, and risk management solutions, announced it will invest HUF 37 billion in establishing an R&D base in Hungary. He insisted that relations would be driven by a new, efficient, and proactive economic partnership and the personal chemistry between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
We can only hope so. Hungary, of course, has also embarked on a “golden voyage” in its relations with China, to use the vivid phrase of President Xi Jinping. Simultaneously pleasing both powers on either side of this growing trade war would be a remarkable feat, should the Orbán government pull it off. You might not want to bet the house on it happening, but you can certainly add it to the mix of all that confusion swirling around right now.
*****
The vagaries of newspaper production mean I am writing this before the long weekend, but you will be reading it after. I cannot sensibly wish you a Happy Easter, but I do hope you and your loved ones were able to enjoy some rest and relaxation and maybe the occasional Easter Egg. Not to mention some nostalgic folkloric “sprinkling.” The good news is that another long weekend is just around the corner, though that, too, will inevitably interfere with the production cycle of our next issue. Ah well, it was ever thus!
Robin Marshall
Editor-in-chief
This editorial was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of April 22, 2025.
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