Prime Minister Viktor Orban

It has recently been reported that Hungary has paid off all of its loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has since begun the process of ejecting IMF bankers from the country.

Very few countries in the world have managed to escape the clutches of the IMF, but the nation, under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has done just that.

Hungary was the first country in the European Union to fall victim to the European sovereign debt crisis after it received an international bailout from the EU and IMF in 2008.

Orbán has had a turbulent relationship with the IMF since then and announced before the start of this year his intention to loosen the stranglehold of the IMF over the country.

The final 2.15 billion dollars of a total credit line of 25.5 billion dollars had been due in March and has now been paid.

According to an announcement made by the Hungarian government, the early repayment saved the country’s budget billions in interest.

Now after paying off the loan, Orban has also ramped up anti-EU rhetoric in the country and has vowed to reject dictates by “European Union bureaucrats” for non-euro members.

In the country, foreign-owned banking, telecommunications and energy sectors have been prevented from amassing vast profits off of the backs of the public thanks to the populist conservative government.

The Hungarian government have also managed to snatch the profits of utility corporations in the country by forcing them to lower their prices.

Unsurprisingly, the tactic to lower energy costs for the population – and the promise to cut bills by 30 per cent has proved popular among the general population. Men and women have already seen their bills drop by 10 per cent, as the policy of slashing prices has been implemented.

Orban has also garnered support among men and women in the country after he forced bankers into a scheme allowing borrowers to pay off loans early at exchange rates well below the market.

As a result, foreign banks have started to leave, along with some of the bankers who would otherwise have profited from inflated interest rates – including the IMF.

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