The fate of the talks depends on to what extent they understand in Washington and Brussels that the government has its own concept, its own programme and that a credit agreement could add to that programme, Varga said. If they fail to understand this, then negotiations will be drawn out for a long time and there will not be a deal in the end, he added.
“We are for an agreement,” he said. Varga said that the European Commission and the IMF were likely to indicate in early to mid-November if they wished to continue talks with Hungary. Varga said Hungary should not make a deal similar to the IMF loan agreement signed in 2008, as its consequences had weighed heavily on ordinary people. He said the difference between the then (Hungarian Socialist Party-led) government and the current Fidesz-administration was that the former “subserviently followed all instructions to take austerity measures” while the latter “has put its foot down and tries to represent the interests of the nation”.