PM Orban Sent IMF Packing—Now the Austerity Hawks Eye a Comeback through Tisza

The economic platform of the Tisza Party mirrors almost word for word the austerity prescription of the International Monetary Fund (IMF): higher taxes, lower pensions, and the elimination of household energy subsidies. After 2010, the Orban government showed the IMF out and instead began to reduce taxes and household utility costs. Now, the global lender appears ready to return to Hungary—this time on the coattails of Peter Magyar and his Tisza Party.

Tisza Party chief Peter Magyar (Photo: Sandor Csudai)

IMF, Tisza Party Say 13th-Month Pensions Are a Problem

The IMF isn’t stopping at tax hikes. It’s also demanding pension reforms—raising the retirement age and cutting benefits. Strikingly, similar ideas are being articulated by Tisza Party-linked economists. Economist Andras Simonovits has floated the idea of taxing pensions and scrapping the “Women 40” early retirement program, while Maria Zita Petschnig has publicly questioned the affordability of the 13th-month pension—echoing the IMF’s own 2021 report, which labeled the extra payment a “budgetary burden.”

The Hungarian government, however, takes the opposite approach—standing by retirees rather than global bankers. As Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently announced, Hungary is not only continuing the 13-month benefit but is also introducing a 14th-month pension, “no matter how much the international bank network dislikes it.”

IMF Targets Utility Price Cuts

A September 2025 IMF report criticized Hungary’s household utility price reduction program, arguing that it delays the phase-out of fossil fuels and discourages energy-saving behavior. That same argument has been echoed by members of the Tisza Party. As Gabriella Gerzsenyi, Tisza’s MEP, stated: “What would really help households would be to encourage savings—right now, since energy is cheap, people aren’t motivated to reduce consumption.”

The Hungarian government, however, has held since 2012 that true protection for families comes from keeping the share of income spent on utilities as low as possible. And the results speak for themselves. According to a recent Szazadveég Foundation survey, 22 percent of Europeans cannot adequately heat their homes, and 26 percent have failed to pay utility bills at least once in the past year due to financial hardship. Hungary ranks among the least affected countries in both categories within the EU.

As for the IMF’s dream of eliminating fossil fuels by 2030, that goal is not just unrealistic for Hungary—but for every EU member state. What’s more, Hungary now boasts over 300,000 household solar systems—up from only about 2,500 in 2012—thanks largely to government support. Far from abandoning families, the Orban government has invested heavily in sustainable energy while protecting affordable living costs.

PM Orban Sent the IMF Packing

It’s worth recalling that back in 2008, to avoid state bankruptcy, the then Gyurcsany government took out a 20-billion-euro bailout package—14 billion of which was drawn—mostly from the IMF, with additional funds from the World Bank and the EU. The price was brutal austerity: the following Bajnai government imposed sweeping cuts, including abolishing the 13th-month pension. 

When Viktor Orban’s Fidesz-led alliance came to power in 2010, it broke sharply with the policies of the socialist-liberal era. The new government overhauled Hungary’s tax and welfare systems to favor work, families, and investment. As PM Orban later recalled in a 2019 interview: “Brussels demanded austerity. In response, we sent the IMF home and cut taxes. They wanted the banks to crush mortgage borrowers—we made the banks pay instead. Brussels told us to admit migrants—we built a fence and said no to mandatory quotas.”

By the summer of 2013, Hungary had fully repaid its IMF loan ahead of schedule—2.2 billion euros—an unprecedented move in IMF history for any European country.

Cover photo: Tisza Party chief Peter Magyar (Photo: Sandor Csudai)