Congratulations three years in advance

I hope you were paying attention in the past few weeks because Fidesz made a few announcements that all but guarantee their election victory in 2018. While many on the right side are worried and many on the left are ecstatic about the effects of the Paks nuclear power plant, the broker scandal, Sunday shopping restrictions or the war with Simicska, these are issues that will be long forgotten come the 2018 election. In fact I’m surprised why the capital keeps delaying the introduction of congestion fees. It’s going to have to happen (due to an agreement with the EU), so they might as well get it over with. It is a well-known fact that a four-year term only allows for a couple years of actual governing and after that politicians will start to think about the next election. Well, Fidesz is already thinking about 2018. Economy minister Mihály Varga announced last week that the government is examining the reduction of the corporate tax, the reduction of the personal income tax and the reduction of Hungary’s world-record VAT. All before the end of the current term. They also intend to relieve taxpayers of having to do their tax returns starting sometime in 2017. You know when the 2017 returns have to be filed? In the spring of 2018. Guess when the next general election is going to take place. So after employers use some of the money they save on corporate taxes to increase the salaries of their workers – if not they can be forced to do so by significantly increasing the minimum wage –, employees will have to pay less in personal income tax – some 7-8% less according to the current plans – and pay a smaller amount for most of the items when they shop. In this scenario, I doubt they will care much that they will be saving money on any day of the week, except Sunday. So barring the appearance of a new messiah on the left, another economic crisis or something similar to Gyurcsány’s infamous Őszöd speech, Fidesz has just won the 2018 election. Congratulations.