The World - News from Aug. 23, 1989

Hungarian Communist Party General Secretary Karoly Grosz, a centrist who has lost ground recently to reformists, hinted he will step down. Grosz did not specifically say he would resign, but the official MTI news agency reported that he did not contradict a reporter for the party daily Nepszabadsag who asked why he intended to “leave the political scene.” Grosz replied: “Many people want to believe that the main cause of the current problems is the power struggle within the party. I would not like to have a power struggle, as it would not do any good to either the party or the country.” He apparently was alluding to expectations of a clash between reformers and their opponents at an extraordinary party congress scheduled for Oct. 6.