It’s not easy being a central banker in Europe — especially during the biggest economic crisis in a generation.

But Andras Simor, the governor of the Hungarian Central Bank, has it even worse than most. Not only has the new government of Viktor Orban placed the blame on Mr. Simor, among others, for Hungary’s stagnant economy, it has slashed his salary by 75 percent.

The Hungarian government has attacked him for holding offshore investments in Cyprus and, insiders say, now may even consider pressing criminal charges in a bid to force him from office.

What those charges might be is unclear, and Mr. Simor says there is no basis for any accusations of wrongdoing. In Brussels, the European Commission is pondering a legal challenge to the policy maker’s pay cut on the basis that it is an unwarranted interference in the operations of the central bank. A spokesperson for the government in Budapest did not respond to questions about the central banker’s standing.

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