Life

Hungary's govt offers incentives to have more children

February 20, 2019
A woman pushes a stroller in the Varosmajor public garden in Budapest. — AFP
A woman pushes a stroller in the Varosmajor public garden in Budapest. — AFP

Budapest — Faced with a plummeting population, Hungary's fiercely anti-immigration Prime Minister Viktor Orban has come up with an answer sparking yet another controversy: "We need Hungarian children".

Earlier this month Orban unveiled a seven-point "family protection action plan" stacked with incentives for young couples to have children.

Opinion is divided however as to whether it will have the desired effect -- and some critics have seen disturbing historical echoes in his plan.

The policies announced by Orban include lifelong tax exemption for women who bear four or more children, and more kindergartens.

It also offers lump-sum, 10-million forint (32,000 euros, $36,000) loans for newly-wed women under 40, cancelled once they have three children.

"This -- not immigration -- is the response of the Hungarian people," said Orban, a 55-year-old father of five, during a state-of-the-nation speech that was greeted with rapturous applause.

"With 10 million forints my partner and I can finally think of buying an apartment around here and moving out from my parents' at last," said Nora Koszeghy, a 24-year-old teacher outside a supermarket in a Budapest suburb, as her toddler dozed in a pushchair.

"We were planning for a brother or sister for Juli. Maybe she can have two or even three now, who knows," she said. — AFP


February 20, 2019
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