It’s to be hoped that Australian critics of supposed left-wing bias at the ABC are not taking lessons from their counterparts in Hungary. There, not content with verbal protests, right-wing demonstrators stormed and briefly occupied the headquarters of state television on Monday night.

The violence came at the conclusion of mostly peaceful protests against the government of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, who had been heard in a leaked recording admitting that his social democrats had lied their way to victory in last April’s elections.

The “lies”, however, are not the sort that any informed observer would ever have believed; rather they involved telling voters that the economy was OK, the government knew what it was doing, and the budget deficit wouldn’t stop it from implementing tax cuts instead of austerity measures.

All untrue, but the only remarkable thing is that he actually admitted it. Gyurcsany’s government is now trying to face up to its economic problems, and it is being suggested that he orchestrated the leaking of the tape himself in order to soften public opinion and showcase his hard-headedness – in much the way that France’s Ségolène Royal was suspected of leaking candid pictures of herself in a swimsuit.

The opposition FIDESZ party professes itself outraged at the recording, but its pitch to the electorate in April was even more populist than the government’s. So far, public opinion doesn’t seem to have swung dramatically in its favour. A poll taken on Monday showed 47% saying that Gyurcsany should stay in power, as against 43% that he should resign: similar proportions to the election result.

There was further unrest in Budapest this morning, with mounted police using tear gas against protesters outside the social democrats’ party headquarters, but there were no reported injuries. Continued violence by his opponents, albeit a small minority of them, is not likely to hurt Gyurcsany either.