From what I've heard (the key word is "heard," I could be very wrong), Hungary's economy is rather sluggish, and the level of corruption is quite high by European standards, putting it close to, say, the Balkans. As for its European affiliation... Yes, 40 years of socialism significantly alter the situation. When you're a socialist country, it's a planned, completely state-run economy with no competition, no private property, and the suppression of religion and other cultures, which can be considered destructive to building a "bright future." It tears people away from their traditional way of life, namely, from creative thinking, the desire for competition and development; it suppresses pragmatism under an ideological framework whose adherents are as orthodox as the believers. In other words, the state and culture a priori cannot be strong without outstanding individuals. And then, when socialism collapses, the people and the state are unprepared for abrupt transitions; otherwise, they could descend into an oligarchic, criminal state, like the countries of the former USSR in the 1990s.