Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy is expected to bring forward a government reshuffle by two weeks to Wednesday to shore up crumbling support in the ruling Socialist-Liberal coalition for spending cuts. The reshuffle is part of a major shake-up within the coalition, after defeat in European Parliament elections in June sparked fears that a policy aimed at cutting the wide budget deficit could prove unpopular before a 2006 general election. Istvan Szent-Ivanyi of the Free Democrats, the junior coalition party, told the national news agency MTI there were still issues on which the partners had not reached agreement. He was speaking after a meeting between Medgyessy and Socialist and liberal Free Democrat leaders on Tuesday. The talks will continue on Wednesday, when the decisions are also expected to be announced, pending approval by the two parties. "Most of the changes will affect state secretaries, but a few ministers may be also affected," outgoing Socialist Party president Laszlo Kovacs said earlier. He added the reshuffle may target cabinet members delegated by the Free Democrats, but this would pose no threat to coalition unity. --MORE 2340 Local Time 2040 GMT
