PM says government to stay on straight path in future

The government will follow better defined, more straightforward policies in future, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány told a cabinet meeting, part of which was open to the public, on Wednesday. Gyurcsány also expressed regret about the tone of a speech to party members which was leaked more than a week earlier. The speech, in which Gyurcsány said his party had lied to voters about the state of the economy, brought thousands of anti-government demonstrators to the streets. "That speech was more than it appeared, it was a tool to fight with," Gyurcsány. The biggest challenge will be to give up the illusion of politics based on hopes, Gyurcsány said, noting that the government took the right decision when it made reforms and developments the focus of its policies. These policies will, however, demand a new attitude and a new culture, he said, adding that most people understand that the country needs change, requiring everyone's cooperation. Gyurcsány said that incomes would fall by a few percentage points next year, which would cause many Hungarians difficulties. He also said more efficient and better targeted social policies would be necessary in future. (Mti-Eco)