Hungarian prime minister to step down

Hungary's prime minister said Saturday he will resign from government, frustrated by opponents he said labelled him the "single obstacle" to tackling the country's economic woes.

"I hear I was the obstacle to parliamentary cooperation and for the necessary parliamentary majority to implement reforms," Hungarian newswire MTI quoted Ferenc Gyurcsany as saying.

"I hope this is really the case, that I am the single obstacle because I am now eliminating this obstacle.

"A new government and a new prime minister are needed in Hungary," he added in remarks to a congress of his Socialist Party.

Hungary is among those eastern European countries hit hardest by the financial crisis.

It was saved last November from defaulting on its state debt by a 20-billion-euro 27-billion-dollar lifeline from international financial institutions.

Gyurcsany said he would inform parliament of his decision on Monday, and that he would ask for a vote of no-confidence against himself.

If it passes, parliament can name his successor without early elections.

"I was wrong about our strengths and opportunities and in an important moment I failed to speak clearly," Gyurcsany added. "As a result, my credibility has been tainted significantly."

Gyurcsany nevertheless insisted that reforms of the education, health care and social security systems must be continued.

The party congress, which reelected Gyurcsany as chairman, agreed to meet again on April 5 to open the designation procedure for a new candidate as prime minister, according to MTI.

As head of a Socialist government which has not held a majority in parliament for the past year, Gyurcsany did not name any possible successor.

He said that the new premier should be found through consensus talks with other parties.

The main opposition party Fidesz, leading the socialists in recent polls by a large margin, rejects talks for a new prime minister in favour of early elections, according to Tibor Navracsics, head of the Fidesz parliamentary group.

For its part, the Socialist Party is considering alternative scenarios which could also involve the endorsement of a non-socialist candidate, the head of its parliamentary group, Ildiko Lendvai, told Hungarian public radio MR1.

Gyurcsany, who became the head of government in 2004, is the first prime minister to have been re-elected in national polls since the end of communism in 1989.

His credibility was seriously damaged a few months after the 2006 general election when he admitted to lying about the economy to win the vote -- his expletive-laden speech at a closed socialist meeting being leaked by internal opponents.

However, the belt-tightening programme sparked a rapid loss of support, culminating in the break-up of the governing Socialist-Liberal coalition last April over disagreements on the pace of reforms.





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