BUDAPEST The legs of the soon-to-be-one-year-old twins fluttered in the air.
Andrea Virag pushing speed in the park one after another on two baby swings.
When the children were born, Virag received a maternity allowance of a couple of hundred euros. The Hungarian state paid her full salary during her half-year maternity leave, and since then she has received an income equal to the general minimum wage.
However, this is just the beginning. Hungary supports families generously.
A popular benefit is a maximum loan of 27,000 euros aimed at families with children, the payment of which becomes easier with the number of children.
When the first child is born, interest payments stop. For the second child, the principal of the loan is reduced by almost a third, and for the third it is completely zero.
However, loan support is subject to conditions.
– When you take out a loan, you sign a contract based on which you get one, two or three children. You can decide what you commit to. I find it a bit strange, says Virag.
If there are no children without a good reason, the loan will have to be repaid with interest.
– You have to show, for example, that you have undergone fertility treatments and prove that infertility is not your own decision, Virag knows.
The state also pays support for fertility treatments.
The loan with costs also falls due if the parents divorce or the family moves abroad.
A subsidized mortgage is available separately, which is currently affordable mainly for families with three children.
In addition, there are many other benefits for families with children.
The fourth child exempts the mother from the tax
Hungary’s fertility problem is familiar to Finland and the rest of Europe.
Hungarian Viktor Orbán and his far-right Fidesz party have been encouraging citizens to have children since 2011. At the same time, the party is guiding the traditional family model.
The subsidies are aimed at middle-class married women. For example, only married couples can apply for a family loan. Single parents don’t get it.
– Hungary’s very conservative government does not want the population to increase through immigration. They want more Hungarians to be born, says Virag.
Especially the increase in the number of children is rewarded. After the fourth child, the mother will never pay income tax again.
However, mothers of large families are hardly seen on the labor market, says the researcher Ivette Szalma From the Hungarian Center for Social Sciences.
– This model is not very effective, because only a few mothers have more than four children, says Szalma.
The role of fathers is hardly discussed, because mothers take parental leave.
Same-sex couples cannot get married, so they are not supported to start families either.
The economy affects more than subsidies
In 2011, less than 1.3 children were born per woman in Hungary. The background was influenced by the 2008 financial crisis.
The birth rate turned to increase in 2015. However, according to Szalma, it is unclear whether the change was due to subsidies. The financial situation had improved, so they would have started having children even without support.
Now the birth rate has dropped again to 1.3. Citizens’ faith in the family’s ability to cope was weakened by the drastic inflation of more than 26 percent in 2023.
in Finland the fertility rate is at the Hungarian level of 1.26.
According to Szalma, the plan is to increase the tax benefits next year. The government plans to exempt the mother of three children from income tax.
He thinks that subsidies do not necessarily increase the birth rate. People are worried about health care and education.
– There is a shortage of teachers and there are long queues for healthcare appointments. Such things may reduce having children.
Taking a stand in the stomach
The government’s maternity workers have also received a campaign.
Zsuzsi Simon started an art project ten years ago, in which he depicted a text written on his stomach with lipstick:
“I won’t have children until the government’s policy changes”
Simon got 15 women with him, who painted the same text on their bellies.
The art project has now become public again, and pictures are being requested for exhibitions.
Simon tells that the text is still relevant.
– I think it is important that individuals express their opinions. Don’t just be passive. We can oppose politicians’ statements.
Simon disapproves of the government’s women-home policy.
According to him, the photos have attracted attention in new groups outside of cultural circles, including the right-wing. Hate mail has also arrived.
There is a shortage of daycare places
Andrea Virag plans to return to work. He works as the director of the political think tank Republico.
In his opinion, families need day care places more than financial incentives.
– Many think that they will not be able to buy a home without these loans. That’s why they agree to the terms.