Hungary parliament elects Socialist coalition

Hungary's parliament voted in favour of the Socialist-led coalition government's four-year programme today to pave the way for…

Hungary's parliament voted in favour of the Socialist-led coalition government's four-year programme today to pave the way for it to start tackling the country's huge budget deficit.

The Socialist and Alliance of Free Democrat coalition won 210 seats in the 386-member parliament in April's election, becoming the first government to win two consecutive terms since the end of communism in 1989.

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said yesterday the deficit, which was proportionately the biggest in the European Union in 2005 at 6.1 per cent of gross domestic product, would surge to 8 per cent of GDP this year.