Some 1.38 million people completed the “National Consultation” survey sent to Hungarian households in the autumn, showing the readiness of Hungarians to “take action in great numbers” when truly important issues are raised, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public Kossuth Radio.
The prime minister said he had asked the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás, to prepare a proposal addressing the contemporary challenges child protection services face and the government’s potential responses. Regarding family policy, Orbán called it a “historic decision” that Hungarians wanted to see demographic problems solved with strategic family policy rather than through immigration. Katalin Novák, the state secretary for youth and family affairs, laid out a “long and very expensive” action plan to protect families, he said. This puts the protection of young families first, he said. It would be “worthwhile” enshrining some elements of family policy in the constitution, Orbán said in response to a question, adding that he would “tread carefully here”.
On the topic of the economy, Orbán said Hungary “is among the world’s top ten countries from the point of view of investments”. The goal, he said, was to raise Hungary’s level of economic growth by at least 2% above the European average each year. In connection with the reduction of public debt, he said Hungary’s economy was sufficiently strong for the public debt level to be reduced to below 50% from the current 71% in a couple of years, but this would mean less money being spent on economic development. A balance must be struck between these two aims, he added.
Referring to the death of Andrew G Vajna, the government commissioner responsible for the development of the national film industry, Orbán said Vajna had loved his country and it spoke volumes that he had created the most heart-rending film about the 1956 revolution, Freedom. “He was a great man and his passing is a serious loss.”