“Tamás Sulyok has never stood up for the vulnerable, for those under attack, or for the rule of law.” Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, wrote that in a post on X on Sunday, and he followed it with a promise: the government will amend the constitution to remove the president.
Sulyok will not go quietly. He has refused to resign, and after meeting Magyar on Monday he refused again.
The deadline that passed
Magyar won a landslide in April, and he pledged then to remove Sulyok and other key figures appointed by his predecessor, Viktor Orbán. He has accused the president of serving Orbán’s interests and has repeatedly urged him to quit. His latest deadline was 31 May. Earlier, he called Sulyok “unworthy of representing the unity of the Hungarian nation.”
Orbán’s Fidesz party called the demand an “unlawful ultimatum.” Magyar told reporters that removing Sulyok through an amendment would take around a month.
Sulyok was installed in February 2024 by Orbán’s party without a direct election, after Katalin Novák resigned over a controversial presidential pardon in a child sex abuse case. He says he intends to serve out his five-year term.
Why the votes are there
Magyar’s Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. That is the threshold for changing the constitution, and the new government will need it to unpick Orbán-era reforms. Orbán, whose rule lasted 16 years, stepped down as a member of parliament in April. Tisza has also proposed a constitutional amendment limiting any prime minister to eight years in power.
Sulyok’s warning
After Monday’s meeting, the president said “the constitutional crisis situation emerging as a result deepens the social divisions and damages the international judgement of Hungarian democracy.” He also claimed the stand-off could threaten the release of EU funds bound for Hungary, most of which were held back over democratic backsliding under Orbán. The EU said last week that reforms led by the new government could soon see €16.4bn (£14.2bn) handed to Budapest.
The presidency is largely ceremonial in Hungary’s system, but it is not powerless. The president confirms public appointments; on Monday, Sulyok announced several military appointments on Facebook. He can also send laws back to parliament for reconsideration, or refer legislation to the constitutional court, which could slow or block a reform agenda.
Sources
- Hungarian PM threatens to oust Orbán-era president
- Hungarian PM threatens to oust Orbán-era president
