Hungary's budget deficit could stay around 5% of output for the fourth successive year in 2027, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, amid heavy pre-election spending and the lack of a clear strategy on how to curb the shortfall in a weak economy. In power since 2010, Orban faces what could be the toughest challenge to his rule at an April election from a centre-right rival following three years of near-stagnation and the European Union's worst price surge after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.