Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Sunday hit out at opposition conservatives for backing far-right groups calling for the overthrow of his government, as demonstrations continued for an eighth night.
"We cannot have and we cannot allow cooperation with those who reject the democratic foundations of the third Hungarian Republic," Gyurcsany, a Socialist, said at a meeting of leftist city leaders in Budapest.
"This is not only the tragedy of the Hungarian right but also of Hungarian democracy," he said.
The prime minister's comments came after more than 20,000 people rallied on Saturday in the largest of a week of protests demanding his resignation after he admitted lying about the state of the economy to win re-election in April.
Instead of promised tax cuts, Gyurcsany implemented tax hikes and spending cuts to rein in Hungary's public deficit, which is still forecast to hit 10 percent of GDP, the highest in the EU.
Right-wing extremists have been instrumental in organizing the demonstrations, with some calling for Gyurcsany's government to be overthrown by force.
The protests degenerated into street riots on three nights over the past week but have been without incident since Thursday.
Some 8,000 people attended another anti-government rally on Sunday evening. The rally ended peacefully at about midnight.
Krisztian Hajdu, a spokesman for the far-right groups, said the demonstrations being held in front of parliament "almost certainly reached their high point" on Saturday, and that the number of people present "will diminish through the week."
Sunday's rally -- which took the form of a rock and folk music concert -- was the eighth night of demonstrations since state radio on Sept. 17 broadcast a leaked recording of Gyurcsany in which he was heard confessing to Socialist deputies in May that he had lied in promising tax cuts ahead of the election.
Prominent Fidesz leaders, such as party vice president Pal Schmitt, have been among the speakers at the protest rallies.
Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition conservative Fidesz party, has urged on the protests, in his bid to unseat Gyurcsany after losing April's election.
The demonstrations are expected to continue until the municipal elections scheduled for next Sunday, which Orban intends to make a referendum on the government.
But Gyurcsany has insisted he will not resign.
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