BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A center-right party’s surprise election victory sent Hungary’s stock exchange plunging Monday, reflecting investors’ worries about the lavish campaign promises that helped the conservatives win votes at a time of economic hardship.
The Young Democrats-Civic Party got 148 of the 386 parliament seats in Sunday’s vote, putting it 14 seats ahead of the Socialists who have governed Hungary since 1994. The vote also gave a far-right party with anti-Semitic, anti-Gypsy views representation in Parliament, for the first time since World War II.
The Young Democrats-Civic Party has proposed cutting corporate taxes and social security payments, lowering interest rates and spurring domestic consumption.
“There were too many promises made during the campaign and no one knows where the money would be coming from,” economist Laszlo Lengyel told state-run radio.
Share prices took a dive at the opening of Monday’s session as investors dumped stocks, signaling anxiety over the new conservative coalition. The BUX index of 20 major shares closed at 7274.34, down 8.7 percent