Hungarian Social Forum applauds government for being tough with IMF

"The government proved to be responsible towards Hungarian citizens living from their work by not giving in to the European Union's demands on introducing further austerity measures in exchange for receiving the remaining part of the stand-by loan,” the press release by the Hungarian Social Forum (MSzF) reads. The forum also welcomed that the government insisted on the planned extraordinary bank tax.

“International creditors should acknowledge that Hungary’s stability is not only a budgetary issue but also a social one, which also affects the international financial systems and the stability of Europe as well,” Endre Simó, organizer of the MSzF told the press on Sunday.

The interruption to the talks should not be overdramatized, as negotiations will go on, and will hopefully lead to a compromise that is advantageous for the Hungarian society, the press release stated.

According to Simó, the fact that banks are gradually drawn under state control all over the world strengthened the negotiating position of the Hungarian government at the talks with the European Commission and the IMF. Strengthening Hungary’s position by creating jobs and improving the state of small- and medium-sized companies serves the interest of the Hungarian society, the MSzF said. “It is necessary to mobilize our inner resources in order to protect Hungary from a new attack against the Hungarian currency the speculative capital is about to launch because of the interrupted IMF talks,” Simó said.