Akhir 02, 1432 H/March 7, 2011, SPA -- Appointments to the monetary policy council of Hungary's central bank on Monday went some way to assuage concerns that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's conservative government may be seeking greater influence over monetary policy, according to dpa. Ferenc Gerhardt and Andrea Bartfai-Mager, both former Hungarian National Bank employees, stressed their professional independence during questioning by opposition politicians. The news came just five days after Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, declared himself "very unsatisfied" with the Hungarian government's position. The government recently pushed through legislation that allows parliament to appoint four external members of the Hungarian National Bank's rate-setting council. Previously, the central bank governor and the prime minister each appointed two external members to the seven-strong body. With Orban's Fidesz party controlling two-thirds of seats in the national assembly, there were fears that the government was seeking to increase its influence over central bank monetary policy. Last summer, the newly-elected government included Hungarian National Bank governor Andras Simor in a civil service pay cap of 2 million forints (10,000 dollars) a month. This was widely interpreted as a bid to force Simor's resignation through what amounted to a 75- per cent pay cut. Some local media have suggested that the wage cap may partly explain why the government has so far only filled two of the four seats that have been vacant since the six-year terms of the previous external members ended in February.
