Budapest - Former economy minister Grodon Bajnai was voted into the post of Hungarian prime minister in a parliamentary vote Tuesday which at the same time expressed no confidence in Ferenc Gyurcsany, voting the socialist premier out of office. Immediately after the vote Bajnai, who has no party affiliation, said he would be reshuffling the cabinet and bringing in experts who were also free of party affiliations to take over the key finance, economy, social welfare and energy ministries.
Bajnai, who described himself as "a crisis manager without political ambition", said he intended leading the country out of its economic hardship with tough but necessary measures designed to take effect as soon as possible.
Parliament last week had initiated a constructive vote of no confidence against Gyurcsany with the motion for Tuesday's vote, signed by 92 MPs calling for his replacement by Bajnai.
The move was in line with a plan announced by Gyurcsany himself at a party conference on March 21.
Acknowledging that his unpopularity had made him an obstacle to reform, Gyurcsany had said he would step aside to make way for an interim government to tackle Hungary's deepening financial crisis.
Bajnai, a wealthy businessman, was nominated following nine days of negotiations between the Socialists and the small liberal opposition Free Democrats party.
Bajnai's package of proposed crisis measures includes drastic cuts to public spending in sensitive areas such as pensions and public sector pay.
Hungary's largest opposition group, the centre-right Fidesz party, has already labelled the proposed interim government as "illegitimate" and is calling for elections to be brought forward from spring 2010.
