Overheads reduction: policy change as a political innovation

Abstract

The study investigates the overheads reduction initiative, leading issue of public policy in Hungary between 2013 and 2014 in the face of the punctuated equilibrium theory. The case is examined from the perspective of how the punctuated equilibrium theory and the associated concepts (as policy image, policy monopoly and stream) can be applied to the overheads reduction initiative, a significant change in the public policy. After clarifying the terminology, the study presents that the increase of the expenditure of the domestic energy along with the rising number of those in arrears have already been issued as a real societal problem for years. Nevertheless, the intermittent character and the emergence of the policy image and monopoly can be justified with the priority of political aspects and the aspiration for bigger popularity. The series of provisions of the overheads reduction initiative perfectly match the governmental narrative. Between the discourse of the overheads reduction initiative generated by the government and the punctuated equilibrium provisions and the climax of popularity of Fidesz, a close interrelation can be detected. However, the widespread support of Fidesz cannot exclusively be attributed to the overheads reduction initiative. (author's abstract)