Are we to believe that the numbers embedded into the law will guide the governments economic policy? This has never happened before. It is hard to imagine European officials or market analysts being much impressed by a law with merely suggestive power. They were perfectly happy with the plans that existed before now, it was just the actual measures taken that they were worried about.

We might therefore conclude that the Lex Euro is aimed at a domestic audience. We might assume that the government is trying to force the opposition to declare its hand. It is of course impossible to bring the budget into balance if Fidesz constantly makes spending promises on behalf of a future government, while calling for generous cuts to taxes and contributions. Maybe the Finance Minister thought he would force the opposition to make a stand. It must either support the draft law - by reining in its promises - or dismiss it - thus proving it had no interest in an early euro entry. Viktor Orbán, the leader of Fidesz, says the euro will come after 2013, but blames this delay exclusively on the current government. If it were up to him, he claims, then we would not only have the euro, but we would be able to claim our 28th-month pension payment in manna.

However this soap opera develops, it will become ever harder to persuade the country and the wider world that our politicians are making real efforts to bring the budgetary imbalance under control. More worrying than warnings from Brussels are the continuous downgrading of Hungary's debt, which undermines investor confidence in the country. It is in all our interests that Hungary's debt rating improves.

Éva Várhegyi