Hungary opposition keeps pressure on PM

Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party today called for a non-partisan government as it kept up the pressure on embattled Prime…

Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party today called for a non-partisan government as it kept up the pressure on embattled Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

"The time is ripe for a government of experts," Tibor Navracsics, the parliamentary caucus leader of the centre-right Fidesz told public television.

The time is ripe for a government of experts
Tibor Navracsics leader of the centre-right Fidesz

Former Hungarian president Ferenc Madl also urged Mr Gyurcsany to step down in a letter to Magyar Nemzet, a newspaper which backs the opposition.

"There are times when a politician does the most for his country when he steps down. This is what we're asking from you," Mr Madl, who was a minister in Hungary's first post-communist government, wrote in the letter.

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But Mr Gyurcsany has repeatedly said he has no plans to step down, despite the controversy caused by the leak of a tape in which he admitted that he and his Socialists had lied about the state of the economy to win re-election in April.

More than 200 people were arrested during three nights of violence last week after tens of thousands turned out to protest against the government.

The protests in front of parliament have since dwindled to a handful of far-right extremists, with attention now turning to local elections on October 1st.

Political analysts say that both sides will be able to claim victory on Sunday, with Fidesz likely to win 50 per cent of the party vote, but the Socialists and their Free Democrat allies holding on to big cities like Budapest.