Greetings from Hungary

A conference in Hungary was the most recent event on the Free Market Road Show. I tried to do something different at this event, focusing mostly on the Laffer Curve as I explained how European governments will fail if they try to fix the over-spending problem by raising taxes.

But regular readers of this blog have been exposed to plenty of Laffer Curve analysis, so allow me instead speculate on the meaning of the recent Hungarian elections, which resulted in a landslide victory for the supposedly right-wing party. With more than two-thirds of seats in Parliament, there is no obstacle to economic reform, and the party campaigned on smaller government and lower tax rates.

But here's the issues. Is the Fidesz Party a bunch of Bush clones, politicians who talk a good game but then make government bigger once they get in power? Or will the new Prime Minister (who also ruled from 1998-2002) be a principled advocate of freedom who uses his overwhelming mandate to implement a flat tax and reduce the horrific burden of government spending in his country (more than 50 percent of GDP)? I'm not overflowing with optimism, but I hope I'm wrong.