Hongaarse premier wil aftreden om gevolgen financiële crisis (en)
Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany i surprised socialists at a party conference on Saturday (21 March) by offering to stand down on condition parliament can agree a new leader to be elected by MPs on 14 April.
"If I'm the obstacle to change then I'll eliminate this obstacle," he said, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Mr Gyurcsany, just back from a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels last week, heads the Hungarian socialist party who, together with the Free Democrats, currently form a minority government.
The country is facing its most serious crisis in over a decade, with the central bank predicting economic contraction this year of 3.5 percent and some analysts saying it is likely to be closer to 5 percent.
Earlier this month, the forint plunged to record lows against other currencies as investors panicked and Hungarian citizens rushed to buy euros with their savings.
The Hungarian central bank may be forced to raise interest rates in a bid to stabilise the currency when it meets on Monday (23 March).
The eastern European country became the first EU state to seek multilateral aid following the onset of the financial crisis. It secured a €20 billion package from the International Monetary Fund and EU last October as it struggled to meet debt repayments.
Mr Gyurcsany has managed to bring down Hungary's public deficit from over 9 percent when he took office three years ago to close to 3 percent, a benchmark figure necessary for joining the eurozone.
In doing so however, Mr Gyurcsany has seen his popularity drop sharply as Hungarians protest against new austerity measures that were stepped up under the terms of the IMF-led bailout last year.
EU economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia signalled on Sunday that new terms for the support package had been agreed.
"Together with the IMF we have agreed a programme for Hungary that has been updated recently and is going on," he said.
Genuine stepping down?
Some in Hungary feel Mr Gyurcsany's move over the weekend is little more than a strategic manoeuvre to unite the fractious coalition behind him, rather than a genuine offer to stand down.
On the same day as he offered his resignation, Mr Gyurcsany was re-elected chairman of the Socialist Party with 85 percent of the vote, a clear indication of the support he still maintains within the party that will elect its candidate for the new prime minister on 5 April.
Mr Gyurcsany's offer to stand down is conditional on parliament being able to agree on a successor by the April deadline. As such, the minority government would need opposition support for the candidate, a prospect that appears unlikely in the current environment.
The country's largest opposition party, the Young Democrats, is refusing to put forward a candidate and is calling for early elections instead. A number of other candidates are potentially divisive, raising the prospect that Mr Gyurcsany may find himself back at the head of government later next month.
Some comments made on Sunday would appear to go against this analysis, however.
"The decision is final. We will assemble a new government with a new leader. I have complete confidence that we will gain majority support in parliament for the new candidate," Gyurcsany told local news agency MTI.
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