Economic growth was lower than expected in the second quarter, resulting from external factors bearing down on industry experiencing a bout of weak exports, the national economy minister said, adding that Hungarian economy’s foundations were stable, however. Commenting on data for the second quarter, Márton Nagy said he expected that after the US presidential elections this autumn the government would be able to submit a „peace budget” to parliament, giving a push to the economy with the help of an action plan targeting SMEs and families, which would help to generate 4% growth in gross domestic product next year. He said this would be achieved inclusively by strengthening the middle class and enabling increasingly broad layers of society to benefit from the economic boom to be brought about by the return of peace.