Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány underlined on Sunday night that his decision to resign his post is final and Hungary will have a new prime minister within a few weeks.

He told MTV's "A szólás szabadsága" (Freedom of Speech) on Sunday that support for his policies has not increased over the last year and this led him to announce his decision to quit the country's top post at the Socialist Party convention on Saturday.

The convention was cut from the original two days to one in light of the unanticipated development.

In what transpired to be his farewell speech, Gyurcsány said more social cohesion is needed to solve the economic crisis.

Gyurcsány stressed that, although he stands by his February 16 crisis management package, "it was too much for most people, but too little for the economic community", and he "could not bring the two groups together".

He argued that tougher and different measures will be needed to those outlined in the package "because the events of the last few weeks show that the global financial crisis will last longer and be deeper than was earlier anticipated, and the government will have to react to that. Hungary must continue to re-main on a sustainable path with a budget that is more or less balanced," he added.

Gyurcsány encouraged any new prime minister to shape their cabinet in their own image. He said an agreement on a new prime ministerial candidate will be reached quickly and negotiations will be held as soon as possible.

Towards the end of his speech, Gyurcsány said "since 1998 a brutal domestic war has been waged", in which "Fidesz wants to annihilate the Socialists as a political force, and eliminate them one by one." He contended that "Fidesz foments hatred, encourages verbal and physical violence, co-operates with radical forces, brought Jobbik into existence and at times supports destabilisation, and not usually from the background.

"For three years I have listened with great patience as to how I constitute an obstacle to widespread co-operation, but this obstacle has now gone," he said, before instructing the party to find a suitable candidate within two weeks.

After the party executive met on Sunday, Gyurcsány asserted that "the Socialist Party wants to establish an open and national government to address the global financial crisis as well as reduce the effects of recession and tensions caused by social and employment problems. A constructive no confidence motion will be submitted to Parliament on April 6, and the House will have a chance to vote on April 14," he explained.

A decision on a new candidate for prime minister will have to be brought by another Socialist congress on April 5.

Gyurcsány, caucus leader Ildikó Lendvai and national council chairman Gábor Simon will hold talks with the other parties, the state news agency MTI learned from leading Socialist politicians on Sunday. The party executive will meet on an almost daily basis to continually assess the results of talks with the other parties.

Gyurcsány said he has a candidate to replace him as premier, but will not name names "as it would not be good for the prime minister to pull a name out of his pocket. The Socialists want to hold talks with all the parliamentary parties in order to bring about a predictable and stable governing majority with a comprehensive platform." Gyurcsány added that he could envisage right-wing ministers in the new cabinet.

The names most widely touted in the media to replace Gyurcsány have so far been Lajos Bokros, László Békesi, Gordon Bajnai, András Simor and György Surányi.

At the convention Gyurcsány was in fact re-elected as party chairman with an 85% majority. The party delegates also elected Imre Szekeres and Mónika Lamperth as deputy chairs, and Péter Kiss, Attila Mesterházy and István Újhelyi as vice chairmen. Former vice chairman István Hiller was not supported.

Later the convention elected foreign minister Kinga Göncz, MEPs Edit Herczog and Zita Gurma as the first three names on the party's MEP candidates list.