Hungary's PM wins vote of confidence

Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, whose admission that he lied to the country about the economy led to huge protests, won a vote of confidence in parliament on Friday.

The motion in support of Gyurcsany was passed by a vote of 207 to 165.

The prime minister needed 193 votes to win.

Gyurcsany – whose coalition suffered large setbacks in Sunday’s nationwide municipal elections – had requested today’s vote of confidence to reinforce political support for his austerity package and the transformation of the country’s inefficient public sector.