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Domestic and Economic Policy Brief

Domestic and Economic Policy Brief One unicameral National Assembly containing comprised of 386 members, each for a term of four years, governs Hungary, a Republic. This National Assembly then in turn votes for a President of the Republic, who has a term of five years and may run for a second (Europa 1691). However, the highest authority lies in the Council of Ministers. The National Assembly elects this body, at the recommendation of the President. Hungary has 19 counties and a state capitol for a total of twenty local bodies. Within each county there are more lower levels of government, including town, borough and town precinct (Europa 1698). The judicial system has a number of levels from district to county to the Supreme Court of Hungary. The Supreme Court judges are elected for a period of nine years, and are elected by he general voting population. There is universal suffrage for all citizens over the age of 18 (http://www.oacl.gov/cia/publications/factbook/nu/html). The National Assembly elects the Head of the Supreme Court. The last election held was on May 10th and May 24th, 1998. The results of that election are the following (results being seat held by party in the General Assembly): Hungarian Civic Party, 147 seats; Hungarian Socialist Party, 134 seats; Independent Smallholders’ and Peasants’ party, 48 seats; Alliance of Free Democrats, 24 seats; Hungarian Democratic Forum, 18 seats, Hungarian Justice and Life Party, 14 seats; and independent holds the final seat (Europa 1699). The recent election is of historical concern due to the results of the Civic party (HCP), which holds the most seats ever by a single party, and with co-operation from the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF) and the Independent Smallholders’ and Peasants’ Party (ISPP), they will be able to control to almost paramount extents the government. Notwithstanding, on crucial issues, such as constitutional changes, which require two-thirds majority, the coalition will have trouble, especially on such a sensitive issue. With such enormous political shifts being made the communist rule is alleviated, if not completely absolved. Since the beginning of the decade each government has dreamt of joining the EU and NATO. Since Hungary still is in infancy as far as being a Republic involved in International affairs and in foreign matters there have not been many key players. Nevertheless, an ambitious group called the privatization progremme, started by the first post-communist government, has transferred much of the state owned industries, financial, and trading enterprises to private ownership. Also recently the Budapest Stock Exchange was re-opened, and has consistently out preformed its counterparts in other ex-Communist countries (http://users.zetnet.co.uk/spamy/h_20.htm). This success is primarily the result of the newfound power the HDF holds, led by its chairman Sandor Lezsak. Although he leads the group, the entire country, meaning all of the parties, favor a more aggressive foreign policy. Hungary, although vigilant about its position on foreign policy still keeps a tight focus on domestic concerns. Due to the new foreign policy major battles were needed to be fought at home. The unemployment level is near ten percent and inflation is between ten and fifteen percent (Europa 1691). However, the government has established many programs to keep the country from having serious problems. The Health Insurance Act of 1992 has made health insurance mandatory. Along with that a minimum wage has been established and a form of social security has been implemented. As for the economic pressures and concerns, many have been alleviated. The GNP for Hungary has fallen over the past couple of years. In real terms it has shrank at an average rate of .06% over the past three years. However, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in real terms grew at an average rate of 4.4% in 1997 and 4.6% in 1998 (Europa 1691). At the moment Hungary is concerned with economic stability. The country has fertile soils to produce a plethora of crops. Furthermore, Hungary has the natural resources of bauxite, coal, and natural gas (http://www.oacl.gov/cia/publications/factbook/nu/html). In fact, over 33% of the country’s workers are involved in the industry sector, and account for 32.9% of the GDP (Europa 1691). Notwithstanding, the largest sector is services, which accounts for 61.3% of the GDP, engaging 59% of the Country’s workforce (Europa 1691). This number is actually declining, although very slightly over the past couple of years. Moreover, Tourism accounts for a large chunk of the country’s export earnings. The main exports of Hungary are machinery and transportation equipment, and chemicals and related products. The two aforementioned commodities account for over half the country’s trade. Hungary has a large trade deficit currently of 1007 million US dollars. This is down from 1997. Most of the deficit is to Germany, which is its largest market for exports. Others include Italy, Austria, and Russia. These are Hungary’s principal trading partners. Rapid growth has been made with all the countries Hungary has opened its doors to recently. Hungary has made a multitude of steps to lowering trade barriers. These include application for the EU and NATO. Furthermore it has set up agreements with the EFTA, and was admitted to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Europa 1691). The IMF announced in early 1998 that it is taking its stand by credit arrangement away and allowing Hungary to pursue a more independent stabilization process. However, in order to do this the Hungarian government publicized that it would curtail its program for major tax reductions, in order to preserve the newfound economic stability (Europa 1691). Bibliography: Works Cited The Europa World Yearbook 1999. Europe Publications Limited: London, 1999. (http://www.oacl.gov/cia/publications/factbook/nu/html) (http://users.zetnet.co.uk/spamy/h_20.htm)

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