Hungary's opposition tells government to quit after EU sweep

(BUDAPEST) - Hungary's main opposition party Fidesz, emboldened by a strong showing in European Parliament elections, called on Wednesday on the minority Socialist government in Budapest to resign.

"Last weekend, the Hungarian people stripped the Socialist government of its confidence," wrote Fidesz chairman Viktor Orban in an open letter to the chairwoman of the Socialist party.

"On the basis of this decision by the Hungarian people, we call on the Socialist government to step down immediately to enable early elections," added Orban, who was prime minister from 1998 to 2002.

The Socialists swiftly rejected any such move, however with its deputy leader Gergely Barandy saying: "There is no reason for the Hungarian Socialist Party to support early elections."

Fidesz's demands, as listed in his letter, include a halt to privatisations, the withdrawal of a property tax bill and a freeze on Hungary's participation in the Russian-led South Stream gas pipeline.

On Sunday, Fidesz won 14 of Hungary's 22 seats in the 736-member European Parliament, the only directly elected EU institution, a gain of two on the previous election with 56.37 percent of the votes.

Its showing mirrored the strength of like-minded centre-right parties elsewhere in the 27-nation European Union.

By contrast, the Socialists suffered a crushing defeat, winning only 17.37 percent of the vote, down from 34.3 percent in 2004, and seeing their number of seats cut from nine to four.

Hungary's non-partisan Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai took over the helm of the Socialist government in April, after Ferenc Gyurcsany resigned over his inability to pass tough spending cuts in parliament.

In opinion polls, the government's popularity is running at less than 20 percent -- compared with 70 percent for Fidesz.