Government in crisis after PM sacks health minister

Hungary’s governing coalition was near breaking point on Monday after the country’s Socialist prime minister fired the Liberal-nominated health minister, leading the head of the junior coalition party to ask for the recall of his party’s personnel from the government.

The crisis broke open this morning at 7:30, when Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány dismissed Health Minister Ágnes Horváth during a six- to seven-minute meeting in Gyurcsány’s office in the Parliament. According to a report on FigyelőNet based on various media dispatches, Horváth left the PM’s office without speaking to journalists waiting in the nearby corridor, and will formally leave her post as of April 30.

Meanwhile, state news wire MTI is reporting that the PM did not consult with Liberal (SZDSZ) chairman János Kóka either in person or by phone before making the move against Horváth. As a result, Kóka has asked for the recall of all SZDSZ-nominated ministers and state secretaries, also by April 30. These would include Environment Minister Gábor Fodor, Economy Minister Csaba Kákosy, and their state secretaries – Gábor Dióssy and Kálmán Kovács – as well as Horváth’s state secretary, Gyula Kincses.

According to index.hu, a meeting of SZDSZ party leaders will be held this evening to decide whether such a withdrawal will take place.

As a signal of their disapproval, the party’s MPs are sitting out this afternoon’s session.

Gyurcsány said he does not want to “take” the health ministry from the SZDSZ – which under the current coalition agreement has the sole authority to nominate its head – but wants the governing partners to appoint her successor together, MSZP deputy caucus leader Attila Mesterházy said on TV2′s morning talk show “Mokka.” Mesterházy added that the change is not about the person of Ágnes Horváth but about the changed circumstances, stressing that the goals of the health care reform have not changed.

The most visible elements of the government’s health care reform efforts – fees on doctor visits and hospital stays – were overturned in a March 9 referendum, a defeat many saw as a body-blow to the government’s already weak political standing.

Leaders of the SZDSZ called Gyurcsány’s move unacceptable, as it was made without discussions between the two parties. According to left-leaning daily Népszabadság, many Liberals believe Gyurcsány’s action was so “anti-democratic” they cannot imagine any further cooperation with the embattled PM, a feeling deepened by Gyurcsány’s recent vow that there would be no such change to the cabinet.

SZDSZ leaders have also said the party could bolt the coalition if the Socialists refused to continue with reforms of the country’s creaky national health care system. Until now, most analysts have discounted the odds of the SZDSZ walking out, as polls indicate their support has reached a point where their representation in Parliament could be jeopardized if an early election was called.

Government Spokesperson Dávid Daróczi said that “reform of health care has to be continued; the goal is that people receive better service and security improves,” but that a different approach was needed.

At a national meeting of the Socialist Party held on Saturday, Gyurcsány said that popular support for health care reform had dried up, making “new solutions” and “calmness” a priority, an approach that could only be executed by a new minister.

Gyurcsány has asked the two governing parties to reach an agreement on the remaining tasks and schedule for health care reform by April 30.