UK analyst see house speaker as rival to Hungarian PM

The policy pursued by the government might lead to the fall of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, a report by the British think tank Oxford Analytica claims. "Gyurcsány has wasted his political capital on a collection of piecemeal measures, and his replacement as premier is one of several possible outcomes," the analysts say.

A summary of the report, posted on the Forbes magazine website, said Gyurcsány faces strong opposition from within his own party, "particularly from parliamentary Speaker Katalin Szili and her allies, who would seize any opportunity to unseat him."

It remarks that the prime minister's strategy for reducing the fiscal deficit based on increasing revenue rather than cutting expenditure calls his commitment to serious economic reform into question.

The analysts warn that Gyurcsány's commitment to health care reform "has always been shaky, and in recent months it has emerged that he lacks the will or political capital to see the process through.

"The apparent popularity of Fidesz may be misleading, largely reflecting dissatisfaction with the Socialists and the impact of higher taxes, but Gyurcsány's lack of support undermines reform efforts, storing up problems for the economy. The conditions for a significant shake-up in the party system appear to be falling into place," the report concludes.

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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