OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 228, Part II, 25 November 1996

LEADER OF HUNGARIAN FREE DEMOCRATS RE-ELECTED. Ivan Peto on 22 November
was re-elected for another two-year term as party president of the
junior coalition party Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), Hungarian
dailies reported. Peto, who was the only candidate to run, said in a
keynote speech that quitting is not the ultimate answer to the problems
the SZDSZ faces within the ruling coalition. The party did not vote on
whether it should remain in or leave the coalition, although the issue
has been strongly dividing party members since the privatization scandal
emerged in October. But delegates did draw up draft resolutions setting
key legislative tasks for the government and calling on the cabinet to
make suggestions on how to make further progress. Among the tasks it set
for the government were the speedy introduction of tax reductions, the
implementation of a transparent privatization process, the passage of a
new constitution, and the reform of funding for the judiciary and local
government. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

NEGOTIATIONS ON NEW ROMANIAN CABINET. Representatives of the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) participated in negotiations
over the weekend on the new Romanian cabinet, Romanian media report. It
is now considered certain that the UDMR will be included in the new
government. According to some reports, the UDMR's Gyorgy Frunda will be
minister of tourism and the National Liberal Party will have five
ministers in the cabinet. Radio Bucharest reported on 23 November that
during the negotiations, it was decided to restore the traditional
designation "chairman of the Council of Ministers" to replace "prime
minister." The new cabinet will have 27 members, of whom 23 will be in
charge of portfolios. In other news, the Constitutional Court on 23
November confirmed Emil Constantinescu's election as the country's new
president. -- Michael Shafir

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave