Orbán promises renewal in state-of-nation address

In his annual state-of-the-nation address, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday that Hungary has embarked on a process of renewal, and each year up to 2014 will be a staging post towards sustained growth.

Orbán told the audience in the Millinaris Park that 2012 would be the year in which the country "takes off" and restores its balance.

Until then, its house will have to be put back in order, a task the government is seeing to this year, he said.

Orbán's Fidesz alliance with the Christian Democrats swept into power in the April elections last year with a two-thirds majority and consolidated its position in the October local elections. Orbán has since pledged to use the supermajority to rewrite the constitution, keep to budget EU deficit targets while setting the country on a strong growth path by cutting taxes and creating a business-friendly regulatory environment.

Orbán called Hungary's process of rejuvenation "a struggle and a mission".     He said Hungarians had lived "upside-down" for the past eight years of Socialist rule, when "speculation was rewarded over the hard work of decent citizens".

The prime minister has trailed a plan to improve the country's fiscal balance by around 660 billion forints (EUR 2.4bn) with a mix of spending cuts and revenue-boosting measures. Orbán is expected to reveal the details in Parliament next Monday.

Orbán told lawmakers that the government was now implementing a plan of "last-resort" to prevent the country from falling apart.

"There is a plan, but it is only an opportunity. The last opportunity on the verge of falling into an abyss. But it is better than the plans of the past eight years," said Orbán.

He said hard work and honesty would be rewarded under the country's new structures. For Hungary to work down state debt, everyone who can work must work, he said. Most jobless Hungarians want to work and do not want to live on state benefits, he said, adding that the state should only take responsibility for people who cannot work.

"If we cannot manage renewal, we will be swept away with the tide of debt [...] Renewal is a mission. It is not only a matter of honour, it is an everyday struggle, too," he said.

Orbán said the constitution should honour "the spirit of Hungarians".

"This [the current constitution] is not a constitution of Hungarians," he said, adding that it was based on a Soviet model and political pacts, and "though it was prepared by excellent men of law, it was written under pressure."

Orbán said Hungarian life of today was built on the basis of the 1956 revolution, but the constitution failed to mention this.