Posted on 09/18/2006 9:22:32 PM PDT by jdm
Hungarys prime minister has admitted saying that his party lied to the public to win Aprils general election.
Ferenc Gyurcsanys admission came after Hungarian radio played a tape of a meeting he had with his Socialist MPs a few weeks after the election.
On it he says the party had lied to the public and his boneheaded government failed to introduce any real policies.
About 3,000 people gathered outside parliament on Sunday calling for him to resign but Mr Gyurcsany has refused.
Economic reforms
The meeting concerned was on 26 May, about a month after the governing coalition had won 210 of the 386 parliamentary seats.
A brief excerpt was played on Hungarian state radio and others appeared on web sites. It is not clear how they were leaked.
In the excerpts, Mr Gyurcsany says harsh economic reforms are needed.
There is not much choice. There is not, because we screwed up. Not a little, a lot. No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have.
Evidently, we lied throughout the last year-and-a-half, two years. It was totally clear that what we are saying is not true.
You cannot quote any significant government measure we can be proud of, other than at the end we managed to bring the government back from the brink. Nothing. If we have to give account to the country about what we did for four years, then what do we say?
Mr Gyurcsany thanks divine providence, the abundance of cash in the world economy and hundreds of tricks for keeping the economy above board.
In a speech sprinkled with obscenities, he says: We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening.
Some analysts suggest the leak may be with the prime ministers permission as he posted a full transcript on his own web blog.
Mr Gyurcsany may be trying to emphasise the need for tough reforms, they say. Local elections are set for 1 October.
Mr Gyurcsany went on television on Sunday amid the row and said the lies he referred to were those politicians told citizens, who now believed they could have happiness as a gift.
We have to stop the deluge of lies which have covered the country for many years, he said.
Hey, it worked twice for Bill Clinton!*
*The lying part, not the admitting part.
This guy has a future as head of the DNC.
aaarrrggg you beat me to it!
This guy is definitely managerial material. Maybe the DNC or Teamsters. Years ago I asked my uncle, a truck driver, why he was a Teamster. He said simply, "they are a good organization, crooked as H , but at least they are honest about it." He admired integrity, no matter the source.
I hope he gets Ceaucescu'd
April fools!
I just don't believe it. /s
I suppose there's something to be said for bringing home the bacon as well.
So what is new????
There are large riots in Budapest, teer gas, riot police etc...
'Big problems' in Hungary
He noted that there were reports of big problems in Hungary and this could affect emerging markets, although it had not so far.
Overall, it had been a quiet start and the rand was likely to be range bound, at least initially, he concluded.
CCN reports that protesters stormed the headquarters of Hungary's state television network and set fires in and around the building early on Tuesday after the country's prime minister admitted lying about the economy "throughout the past one-and-a-half or two years."
Smoke and tear gas wreathed the headquarters of state broadcaster MTV, where police clashed with demonstrators around midnight on Monday.
Officers turned water cannon on protesters, some of whom were trying to break into the building, and several officers were injured during the demonstrations, police spokesperson Lajos Nenet said.
The turmoil exploded on Sunday, when state radio aired an audiotape of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany telling members of his ruling Socialist Party that his government had lied about the state of the country's economy throughout its two years in office.
"We lied throughout the past one-and-a-half or two years," he said. "We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening and also at night."
Well, I can think of a good place to start.....
They need to absolutely insist on new elections. The guy needs to go now that he can't be trusted.
Wait a minute... what politition CAN be trusted?
"they are a good organization, crooked as H , but at least they are honest about it." He admired integrity, no matter the source."
honestly crooked.... Can you say oxymoron? You do know that it is impossible to be both don't you? I guess it goes without saying that your uncle isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I think the PM's confession is going to strengthen his party. It may seem otherwise momentarily, because there are riots, but eventually I think he is going to come out on top. They say no other leader has spoken as frankly as he did since the communist invasion of the country. I heard the new election is coming up in two weeks.
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