Just what in Heaven’s name is Hungary up to? After overturning eight years of socialist rule, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban’s government has compared the situation of its own country to that of Greece. If Hungary was in a mess, then this would be commendable. But fact of the matter is that it is not – it is actually doing reasonably well.

The nation’s debt stands at 79 per cent of GDP (well below Greece’s 125 per cent) and its budget deficit last year stood at 4 per cent, only one percentage point over what is stipulated by the Maastricht criteria.

In making the announcement that Hungary faced a Greek-style crisis – the Hungarian currency dropped some six percentage points against the euro. At a time when Greece, Spain, the UK, Portugal and even Germany have announced austerity cuts – the message from Hungary sent the already jittery markets into overdrive as talk of contagion and meltdown began to do the rounds.

But why were the remarks made? In part it seems that the Hungarian government which swept to power in April cannot keep to its electoral promises. The government was elected with a mandate to cut taxes and to increase economic growth. The two are incompatible with the current climate and especially in view of recommendations which the International Monetary Fund has made to the country in connection with tapping into an IMF fund. It seems that the remarks were made simply to spite and sully the name of the outgoing government, coupled with a roundabout way of telling the electorate that the pre-election promises cannot be kept.

IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker have both said that they cannot see the reasoning behind Hungary’s claims. Mr Juncker is quoted as having said: “I do not see any problem at all with Hungary. I only see the problem that politicians from Hungary talk too much.”

The Hungarians said that the previous socialist government falsified figures, and in the same breath, mentioned that Greece had falsified figures. Quite what the Hungarian government expected is anyone’s guess – but the result was jittery markets, falling stock and share prices and a dent to its own national currency.

It seems that many countries, especially those who have not yet joined the eurozone, have not quite figured out that nothing in Europe can be kept at a national level anymore. If something happens in Estonia, it will affect the UK, Germany and even Malta. Conversely, if something happens in Malta, it will also affect the bigger countries. This is because all our economies are now tied together and they are all dominated by market perception. Of course, this is the pitfall which defines capitalism. By its very nature, capitalism is defined by greed – greedy consumers and greedy investors. Telling the markets that Hungary’s economy is ready to burst – is going to affect the behaviour of the markets throughout Europe.

One commentator remarked that the Hungarians might think that their language is so complex that any remarks will not make it out of the country. But this line of thinking (although made tongue-in-cheek) is certainly not the way things go in this evolving Europe of ours.

Unfortunately, for all our talk of being in it together, European nations still blur the lines when it comes to collective responsibility. Malta has had a taste of it in terms of illegal immigration and the way we deal with it, but when we are talking about our collective economy – a line really has to be drawn. Populist politics and remarks belong in the past. Populist scaremongering also belongs in the past and this is where our own political parties ought to learn a lesson.