HUNGARY: Some 80,000 Hungarians rallied outside parliament yesterday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, hours after he easily won a vote of confidence inside the assembly.
The Fidesz opposition party predicted that more than 100,000 people would join the protest last night, making it by far the biggest event in three weeks of demonstrations sparked by Mr Gyurcsany's admission that he lied to win re-election in April.
The Socialist leader apologised to parliament before yesterday's vote, not for lying but for not being brave enough to reveal the true state of the creaking economy and the need for tax rises and cutbacks.
"Forgive me," he said. "There's ample reason to blame the prime minister.
"Are we innocent as a newborn lamb? No, not at all. We procrastinated about facing up to our unsustainable policies."
"I did not have the courage to tell the voters to their faces that everything I did, everything we did, everything that many, many people in Hungary did and believed in for the past years, was based partly on self-deception, partly on lack of bravery."
But he again refused to withdraw an austerity programme aimed at slashing the biggest budget deficit in the European Union, which includes plans to introduce fees for healthcare and university courses and to cut a swathe though the country's bureaucracy.
Mr Gyurcsany, a former communist and millionaire businessman, also denounced the Fidesz-backed protest, which officially began soon after the prime minister won the confidence motion by 207 votes to 165.
"The real question is are we going to give in to an attack on the country's constitutional order or are we going to protect it," he said.
"I call on parliament not to give in to threats and street blackmail organised by the opposition."
The forint rallied to 272.55 to the euro from 273.70 prior to the vote as it seemed he had come away from the vote with a stronger hand.
"Gyurcsany's position has strengthened as (opposition leader Viktor) Orban has gone to the limits of constitutional means.
"It is the next parliamentary election which can overwrite the outcome of a parliamentary election," said Zoltan Lakner of Vision Consulting.
Addressing a peaceful crowd waving thousands of Hungarian flags, Fidesz leader Viktor Orban urged demonstrators to continue their protests through October, the month that Hungary marks the 50th anniversary of its failed revolt against Soviet rule.
He also asked people to adopt white as the colour of their protest, to symbolise the peaceful demand for truth and honesty in politics.
Police were on alert last night for any repeat of riots that marred two of the first nights of protests, and left more than 200 people injured. Protesters said they would not give up. "We have to stick together," said Miklos Nemeth, (71), calling the prime minister "ruthless".