Violent clashes hit Budapest after PM is exposed as 'liar'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A leaked recording that caught Hungary's Prime Minister admitting the government had lied about the economy - keeping it afloat through "tricks" and relying on "divine providence" - has led to clashes outside parliament in Budapest and calls for his resignation.
Last night the number of protesters had grown into the thousands for a second day. Riot police were pelted with bottles and cobblestones by a crowd demanding Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's dismissal.
A few hundred pro testers marched to the nearby headquarters of state television, demanding to be allowed to proclaim their demands on a live broadcast. Police used tear gas and water cannons to repel dozens of mostly young men who stormed the building's main entrance, setting it ablaze.
The tape was made at a closed-door meeting in late May, weeks after Mr Gyurcsany's government became the first in post-communist Hungary to win re-election.
It seemed to confirm the worst accusations leveled at him by the center-right opposition during the campaign - that Hungary's state budget was on the verge of collapse and that MrGyurcsany and his ministers were concealing the truth in an effort to secure victory.
Adding spice to the scandal, Mr Gyurcsany's comments were full of crude remarks and called into doubt the abilities of some of Hungary's most respected economists. "We screwed up. Not a little, a lot," Mr Gyurcsany was heard saying. "No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have."
"I almost died when, for a year and a half, we had to pretend we were governing. Instead, we lied morning, evening and night," he told his fellow Socialists.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments