RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE  4 February 2000

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER CLAIMS TRANSITION COMPLETE. In his
annual state of the nation address, Viktor Orban said on 3
February that Hungary's change of regime ended in 1999. "The
average salary has returned to its 1990 level, and the
economy has reached the level of 10 years ago but has since
been transformed into a viable, modern, and competitive
economy," Orban said. With regard to NATO accession, the
country has taken its "deserved place among European
countries," he said. And the premier summed up the
government's family-oriented program by saying "three kids,
three rooms, and four wheels for everyone" are the goals of
the cabinet. MSZ

NEW GROUP SURPRISES FIDESZ, SMALLHOLDERS. Senior officials
from the Federation of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) and the
Independent Smallholders' Party responded with surprise to
recent efforts by their junior coalition partner, the
Democratic Forum, to integrate center-right forces under the
name of the Right Hand of Peace 2000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
3 February 2000), Hungarian media reported on 4 February.
FIDESZ officials say the new group is a renewed effort by the
Forum to distance itself from the cooperation that developed
during the 1998 elections. They noted that the joint support
for the three parties forming the new group is less than 5
percent, so none could win seats in the parliament without
the support of FIDESZ. MSZ

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
               Copyright (c) 1999 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx