In a Facebook post, Magyar wrote: "The 'brave' street fighter is still incapable of one thing: taking responsibility. Viktor Orban has become Fidesz's [former Socialist prime minister] Ferenc Gyurcsany. There is no democratic opposition with a mafia boss."

Orban led the Fidesz-KDNP joint list in the April 12 parliamentary election, in which the Tisza Party secured 141 seats, the previously governing Fidesz-KDNP 52 seats, and the Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) party 6 seats.

Orban has been a member of parliament since 1990.

Orban to return his parliamentary mandate

Viktor Orban, leader of Fidesz-KDNP and the outgoing prime minister, has said he will return the mandate he won in the general election. Orban said on Saturday that his energies would be better spent revamping "the national side" rather than sitting in parliament.

Orban also announced that the outgoing head of the Prime Minister's Office, Gergely Gulyas, will lead the Fidesz parliamentary group.

In a video posted on Facebook, Orban said the Fidesz board meeting had just concluded, during which several important decisions were made: the party's parliamentary group will undergo radical restructuring, with the new group forming on Monday under Gulyas's leadership.

Orban emphasised that the mandate he won as the Fidesz-KDNP list leader is technically a Fidesz parliamentary seat, which is why he decided to return it. "I am needed not in parliament, but in reorganising the national side," he said.

He said the board recommended that he should continue his work as Fidesz leader, adding: "If the congress honours me with its trust, I am ready for the task."

He said discussions on the "renewal of the national side", the parliamentary group, and the protection of their communities were taking place "with full steam".

He added that they had listened to all their candidate representatives, as they needed the opinions, experiences, and commitment of every member of their community.

Orban said several key decisions were made: the parliamentary group would undergo radical restructuring, with the new group forming on Monday under the leadership of Gergely Gulyas.

Orban also announced that Fidesz will hold a national board meeting next week and that the leadership congress, originally scheduled for autumn, has been moved forward to June.

The outgoing prime minister, who has been Fidesz leader without interruption since 2003, emphasised that he has led their community for nearly four decades, during which they experienced successes and failures, electoral victories and defeats.

"One thing has not changed," he declared. "This camp has always been Hungary's most united and cohesive political community, and Hungary will need this unity now more than ever."

In the parliamentary election, the Fidesz-KDNP alliance secured 52 seats: ten candidates won in individual constituencies, while 42 entered via the national list.

As reported by 24.hu on Saturday, Zsolt Semjen, president of the Christian Democrats (KDNP) - who was second on the Fidesz-KDNP national list -- along with Janos Latorcai, former deputy speaker and chairman of the KDNP national board, and Miklos Soltesz, a KDNP representative, will not take up their mandates.

Eight KDNP politicians won seats on the Fidesz-KDNP joint list. Following last week's preparatory talks for the inaugural parliamentary session, Gulyas said that Fidesz and the Christian Democrats will form separate parliamentary groups.

Semjen proffers resignation as KDNP leader, national board rejects submission

Zsolt Semjen on Saturday submitted his resignation as head of the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), but the party's national board unanimously rejected it in a secret ballot.

In a Facebook post, Semjen said personal accountability was required after the election defeat, adding that political renewal and a new generation of party politicians were also needed. He announced that a full leadership election will be held at the appropriate time.

"I will continue my service until then," he wrote.

Kosa joins other Fidesz figures in returning mandate

"Feeling the general responsibility for the election failure as the deputy leader of Fidesz, I will return the mandate I won on the national list and will not run for any position at the party's congress," Lajos Kosa said on his social media page on Sunday.

Kosa thanked the 2.4 million supporters of Fidesz for their trust. "But that is not enough to carry on. The majority of voters voted for change," he noted.

He said it had been "wonderful" to work for the citizens of Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, where he was the local MP, and pledged to continue that work.

Earlier today, Erik Banki, the party's director for Baranya County, also said he would not be taking up his seat in the new parliament, joining Viktor Orban, the outgoing prime minister in returning his mandate.

Toroczkai: Our Homeland will expose every govt mistake

Neither Viktor Orban of Fidesz nor Zsolt Semjen, leader of the Christian Democrats, will take their seats in parliament, "but Our Homeland will be there to highlight every possible government mistake and crime," Laszlo Toroczkai, the party's leader, said in a post on X.

"After causing damage, they are leaving the stage," he said in the post late on Saturday.

Referring to the Socialists (MSZP) and now-defunct liberal Free Democrats (SZDSZ), he added: "If the Fidesz-SZDSZ-MSZP grand coalition [incoming Tisza government] -- essentially a pure globalist government -- makes mistakes or harms Hungary, we will be there. As the only party leader on the opposition benches, I will mercilessly expose every possible government mistake and crime," Toroczkai declared.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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