Budapest  - Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany announced on Tuesday evening that the Socialist Party leadership had drawn up a shortlist of three potential candidates for his replacement.

He named the banker and former finance minister Gyorgy Suranyi, the historian and former head of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Ferenc Glatz, and Andras Vertes, head of the economic research

institute GKI.

"The MSZP leadership recommends that official consultations should begin with and about these three candidates," Gyurcsany said.

Gyrucsany added: "One is sure to gain the necessary support to become Hungary's next prime minister."

Socialist Party causus leader Ildiko Lendvai said on national radio that the candidates, who have all agreed "in principle", must decide whether to firmly accept their nominations.

Lendvai added that all three have the backing of the Socialists and the opposition Free Democrats, in theory enough to secure a majority in a parliamentary vote.

Hungary had been awash throughout Tuesday with speculation over who will fill Gyurcsany's shoes if and when, as promised, he departs on April 14.

Gyurcsany announced on Saturday that he would step down to allow a new leader with broader popular and political support to tackle Hungary's ever deeper financial crisis.

His governing Socialist party continued talks with its former coalition partner, the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats, and also met the conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum.

The Socialists, a few seats short of a parliamentary majority, will need the backing of at least the first of these small opposition parties for Gyurcsany's gambit to succeed.

Both have a vested interest in avoiding early general elections, as opinion polls suggest neither would garner the 5 per cent of the national vote needed to enter Hungary's parliament.

The Free Democrats - champions of major reform in sensitive areas such as healthcare and pensions - are the most unpopular mainstream party in Hungary.

Democratic Forum head Ibolya David said after talks that her party remained in opposition to the government, and would not form a coalition.

However, it will not oppose Gyurcsany's strategy to find a replacement prime minister without calling a general election, she said.

The Democratic Forum joined the Free Democrats in ruling out a coalition with the Socialists.

Free Democrat leader Gabor Fodor said on Tuesday that his party would settle for an early general election if it cannot agree with the Socialists on a leader for an interim crisis government.

The most talked about candidate on Tuesday was Suranyi, twice governor of Hungary's central bank in the 1990s now Central and Eastern European regional head for the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.

The 55-year-old politician-turned-businessman has met the leadership of all Hungary's parliamentary parties this week.

Opposition leader Viktor Orban said he would not support Suranyi as premier after meeting him on Tuesday.

Indeed, it looks unlikely that any candidate acceptable to the Socialists would meet with Orban's centre-right Fidesz party's approval.

Fidesz will not support any government "brought about by inter-party back door dealing and pact making, whether Suranyi or anyone else," said spokesman Peter Szijjarto after the meeting.

Fidesz is Hungary's only large opposition party, and has ruled out cooperating with the government, instead repeating a call for an early general election.

The Hungarian state news agency MTI reported that Suranyi let it be known that he would only accept the post of premier under certain conditions, including a guarantee that the new cabinet would not be subject to party political attacks. (dpa)