Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has spoken of how the so-called 'Hungarian model', which has helped bring the country from the brink in recent years, is proving a huge success in Hungary and could be applied to other nations around the world.
“Hungary was in a very deep depression prior to 2010, but we established a Hungarian model," the prime minister said during the EU Social Summit in Gothenburg. “The Hungarian model works and we Hungarians have no intention of replacing it," he added.
“We are hearing many good suggestions, and during my period as prime minister, I too have taken part in several similar meetings aimed at giving each other good ideas, and there are several good ideas on the table again today, for instance the expansion of the EU’s higher education program, Erasmus," he said.
“But the success of our policies doesn’t depend on the quality of our ideas; the key to success is being capable of constructing a system out of good ideas, and whether we are capable of establishing models using excellent ideas," he added.
The prime minister pointed out that the Hungarian model rests on three pillars. "The first is that we set full employment as our goal and want to build a work-based economy," he said.
“The second is that we do not want external help to solve our workforce or demographic problems, meaning we do not want to solve problems through immigration," he continued.
“And thirdly, we want to be flexible with relation to job market regulations; tax regulations and dual training are both very flexible," he added.
The prime minister added that the rate of unemployment in Hungary was 12.5 percent seven years ago, today it is 4 percent; growth was at minus 5-6 percent then, today it is at plus 4 percent, and government deficits are kept under 3 percent.