The Prime Minister traveled to Riyadh in October 2022 with a small entourage. According to Direkt36, even within the government only a few people knew about the trip, the purpose of which is still not entirely clear.

Although Viktor Orbán has amassed considerable knowledge of economics over the decades, he sometimes has serious shortcomings. And he has now become the prime architect of economic policy, while creating a system in which it is difficult to get back to him when there is a problem with an idea. The final part of the Direkt36 series of articles on the Hungarian economy is the behind-the-scenes story of Orbán’s economic policy.

The inside story of the quick rise of Márton Nagy, the minister in charge of rebooting the economy. He keeps making enemies both inside and outside the government but still enjoys the trust of Viktor Orbán.

In recent years, the Hungarian economy, which has been dominated for nearly a decade and a half by prime minister Viktor Orbán and a few of his confidants, has been struggling. What kind of infighting has been going on between them, and how has Orbán’s thinking on economic policy has evolved? The first part of our behind-the-scenes account focuses on the relationship of Orbán and central bank president György Matolcsy, the prime minister’s longtime ally who is now a fierce critic of the government’s economic policies.