Opposition vows to sit out vote of confidence in PM

Declaring Friday's vote of confidence farcical and denouncing the decision to have a roll-call vote instead of a secret ballot, Fidesz said yesterday that its MPs will not attend the vote in Parliament on Friday.

The party views the special session called for the sole purpose of holding a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and his government's programme a "bogus and lying" comedy, Fidesz caucus leader Tibor Navracsics told reporters.

Earlier, deputy chairman Zoltán sad on TV that "we will not assist in this play".

Regarding Speaker Katalin Szili's announcement that the vote would not be by secret ballot, Christian Democrat Zsolt Semjén said the governing parties seem to want to exert pressure on their MPs, adding that "Gyurcsány is not brave enough to face a secret ballot". The open, roll-call vote was initiated by the Democratic Forum.

Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán on Tuesday promised that the party rally scheduled for Kossuth tér on Friday will be a joyful gathering, reminiscent of the atmosphere of the 1989-90 change of regime, rather than a "fist-shaking" event. Fidesz has applied for a permit to occupy Kossuth tér until October 25.

Fidesz had considered staging a rally on Kossuth tér this coming Sunday, but changed their mind when Gyurcsány announced the vote of confidence, Népszabadság reports.

Party officials said Fidesz will consult all relevant authorities and organisations that have a permit to demonstrate in the square. Organisers of the ongoing rally in the square initiated talks with Orbán, claiming that their "moral victory" contributed to the defeat of the governing parties in the local elections.

Parliament is required to hold secret votes only on the Constitution, on House rules, and on other laws, according to experts quoted by Magyar Hírlap. István Lövétei, said any vote on the government must be public, according to House rules. Ferenc Sükösd of the University of Pécs, said the House can vote on the method of voting. If there is no agreement, then the general rule is a public vote, he said.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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