BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Opposition parties Monday demanded the resignation of the prime minister after he admitted in leaked comments that his government had "lied in the morning, in the evening and at night" about the state of the economy.
In a recording made in May and leaked Sunday, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told deputies of his Socialist Party that they had to end their duplicitous ways.
Gyurcsany said that Hungary had managed to keep its economy afloat only thanks to "divine providence, the abundance of cash in the world economy and hundreds of tricks."
"I almost died because for a year and a half, we had to pretend that we were governing. Instead, we lied in the morning, in the evening and at night. I don't want to do this anymore," Gyurcsany is heard saying on the tape.
President Laszlo Solyom said there was a "moral crisis" in Hungary and called on the prime minister to recognize that he had jeopardized people's faith in democracy. At the same time, hundreds of protesters remained outside parliament, also calling for Gyurcsany's ouster.
The parliamentary faction leaders of the Fidesz Party and the Christian Democratic People's Party said Hungary's democracy was in an "unprecedented crisis" and that they would use all constitutional means available to achieve Gyurcsany's ouster.
"Gyurcsany is not the solution, but part of the problem," said Fidesz faction leader Tibor Navracsics. "He has turned into a persona non-grata in Hungarian politics."
The opposition leaders also rejected Gyurcsany's explanation that the lies he was referring to on the tape were those of Hungary's political elite during the 16 years since the return to democracy and he said the entire government needed to resign for its complicity.
"Gyurcsany's moral bankruptcy has by now turned into political bankruptcy ... and by not resigning he has issued his moral death certificate," said Christian Democratic leader Zsolt Semjen.
A crowd of several thousand people, which began gathering Sunday night outside parliament, had dwindled to a few hundred by midday Monday, although they vowed to stay until Gyurcsany resigned or new elections were called.
"We're not going home until Gyurcsany goes," the crowd chanted near the building's main gates, which were guarded by a high fence and police in riot gear. No violence or arrests were reported.
Gyurcsany on Sunday acknowledged the recording was authentic but said his speech was meant to warn members of his party about the depth of the problems the nation faces and the urgent need for reforms.
Before traveling to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Gyurcsany reiterated on state television that he had no intention of resigning. The Socialist Party leadership also expressed support for the prime minister.
In recent weeks, Gyurcsany has also admitted that to have a better chance to win last April's elections, the government covered up the true size of the state budget deficit and introduced tax cuts now described by the prime minister as a mistake.
Hungary's 2006 budget deficit is now forecast to reach 10.1 percent of gross domestic product, compared with the government's pre-election target of 4.7 percent.
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