Saying that "capitalism was in need of deep renewal," Hungary's prime minister told a group of international bankers today that a return to traditional values would lead to long-term European prosperity and a Central European region with a competitive advantage, according to dpa. Viktor Orban, speaking at a meeting of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in the Austrian capital, said that one of causes of the recent world economic crisis was a weakness in Western capitalism's "immune system" and a lack of "physical and spiritual integrity." "This is what happened to Western capitalism," Orban said. Arguing that alternatives to capitalism have led to a dead end, he said that it is necessary to reconsider capitalism's purpose. This means using "21st-century tools to bring the aspect of profit and public good in line." Orban's centre-right party Fidesz won a landslide victory in Hungary's general election in April and now commands a two-thirds majority in parliament. Earlier this week, Orban unveiled an "economic action plan" aimed at boosting growth while keeping to Hungary's budget deficit target of 3.8 per cent this year. Financial markets have been watching Hungary in recent days, ever since a Fidesz politician said that Hungary had only a "narrow chance of avoiding the situation of Greece." A day later, the Hungarian forint lost 4.8 percent of its value against the euro. Fidesz later said that the 3.8-per-cent deficit target agreed to with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union by the previous Socialist government was achievable "if appropriate measures are taken." Orban told the IIF that over the decades, Europe had lost many of its competitive advantages and that falling fertility rates, unless reversed, would entail increased social tensions caused by needed immigrant labour. "To this end we have to strengthen the institution of family, to give incentives to families and to give incentives to family enterprises," he said. "I am of the opinion that this is the big common objective that would make Europe stronger in the 21st century."
