Gyurcsány sets 2009 European elections as support test

„The premier told us that if we are not successful in the EP elections, we are welcome to let him go,” Juhász said on public television yesterday. „This will be a message to the government and the parties, a very direct message. This is an election of pure party logic, a good political thermometer.” Gyurcsány is under pressure from the opposition calling for his resignation. The government's term will expire in 2010. The party's board and parliamentary group gave the premier their unanimous support, Juhász said. He attributed the criticism to a conflict between the party's sense of social responsibility and the government's austerity measures, adding that the internal opposition has little influence over policy. „In decision making, among those shaping the Socialist Party's policy, there's nobody” who agrees with them, Juhász said. „It is natural and understandable that when there are such serious internal conflicts within society, when we have to make very difficult decisions,” then „some people suggest that this may be done in a different way.” Hungarian opposition leader Viktor Orbán predicted that Gyurcsány would lose his job in a year, the Web site Gondola reported yesterday, citing unidentified opposition officials. (Bloomberg)