Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Magyar said Sulyok had outlined the new parliament's timeline, confirming he would ask the leader of the largest party to serve as prime minister once elected by MPs.

Formal government formation talks will begin this Friday, with party leaders and the directors-general of Sandor Palace and parliament all involved in planning the inaugural session and committee formations.

He said the president had indicated the earliest possible date for parliament's inaugural session is May 4, though May 6 or 7 are more realistic. He said all agreed that, following such a decisive electoral mandate, the transition of power needed to happen as swiftly as possible.

He reiterated that Hungarians had voted not just for a change of government, but "regime change".

He said Sulyok was "unworthy and unfit in the eyes of the Hungarian people to embody national unity, uphold the law or serve as a moral compass and role model".

He suggested Sulyok had failed to defend vulnerable Hungarians, including children, or safeguard democratic institutions, citing "unacceptable" abuses. 

"The country has been plundered, the national bank robbed, the executive has weaponised intelligence services for partisan ends … even targeting the strongest opposition party and its leader, and ruining civilians." He also condemned the president's silence over how "the lives of thousands of Hungarian minors have been ruined."

Magyar said he had asked Sulyok to "preserve what is left of of Hungary’s rule of law and democracy by voluntarily resigning once the government changes, and after parliament elects me prime minister and I form the Tisza government". 

He said he had told the president that "if he did not resign voluntarily, we would use the mandate given to us by voters to remove him and every other puppet appointed by the Orban regime from office".

Magyar said Sulyok had told him that he too wished to preserve the rule of law and would "consider" his arguments for resignation.

The priority now, Magyar said, was convening parliament's inaugural session and forming a new government as soon as possible, given Hungary's energy crisis and dwindling strategic oil reserves, which he said were now at just 20 percent, while the outgoing government "does nothing but post on Facebook". 

He criticised the lack of briefings from the current administration, arguing the outgoing prime minister should inform the leader of the incoming government on critical national issues.

Asked how Sulyok had reacted to being called unfit for office, Magyar described the conversation as polite and non-personal, noting the president had simply said he would consider the arguments.

Magyar said they had also discussed potential constitutional reforms to strengthen the presidency, including the possibility of direct elections. He expressed support for limiting the prime minister’s powers with stronger checks and balances "to prevent a repeat of the past 16 years".

He said Sulyok had agreed, adding that Hungary's president "currently has one of the weakest mandates in Europe, a situation worsened under Orban, who further restricted the office’s powers, including limiting constitutional review".

Magyar called for rapid societal and expert consultations on whether the next president should be elected under the current system or a new one, with the goal of achieving consensus. He said he wanted a candidate "who truly embodies the unity of the Hungarian nation".

Magyar said that past Presidents Arpad Goncz, Ferenc Madl and Laszlo Solyom had been able to embody the unity of the nation, but this could no longer be said "once the party-state began to emerge".

In response to a question concerning what had been agreed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the phone the day before, and under what conditions the EU funds for the Hungarian people would arrive and when, he said this would be discussed at a second phone call.

He said he had reiterated to von der Leyen that he could only agree on terms that were good for the Hungarian people, good for Hungarian entrepreneurs and good for Hungary in general.

The Tisza government will represent Hungarian interests in Brussels, in Strasbourg, in Washington, in Moscow, and anywhere else in the world, he added.

He also said that they could make amendments in four areas very quickly, because the EC and the European institutions expect that the amendments take the form of laws and regulations not just commitments.

He confirmed that these are the anti-corruption measures, Hungary's accession to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the creation of a new anti-corruption office, and the strengthening of the rights and powers of the integrity authority.

The second is the restoration and strengthening of the independence of the judiciary and investigative authorities, he said. The third is the "restoration of a free press and the abolition and reduction of illegal state support for propaganda", he added.

The fourth, Magyar said, was academic freedom, the return of universities to university citizens and the Senate, and the return of research institutes to researchers.

Magyar said that they had agreed to start informal talks even before the government if formed, and the work will start after the formation of the government, hopefully by mid-May at the latest.

He said he had been in agreement with von der Leyen that the deadline was very tight, with thousands of billions of forints having to be spent by the end of 2026.

"Not only do we have to agree, not only do we have to get a green light, but we also have to launch concrete projects and draw down the money," he said.

He added that the deadline was very tight, the Orban government had done "nothing for several years: they neglected to draw down 8 trillion forints and in the meantime they put Hungary in debt".

They agreed that there was no other way but for Hungary to receive this money, as all 26 other member states have already received it, and the money is due to the Hungarian people, Hungarian hospitals, the Hungarian public transport system, the Hungarian railway company, Hungarian SMEs and Hungarian farmers.

Meanwhile, President Sulyok holds consultations with Orban, Semjen

President Tamas Sulyok met outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, leader of Fidesz, and outgoing deputy PM Zsolt Semjen, leader of the Christian Democratic People's Party, in his office for talks on Wednesday.

Sulyok said on Facebook that as part of talks with the leaders of the parties that won seats in parliament, he discussed with the leaders of Fidesz-KDNP the first tasks for the next period, and the organisation of parliament's inaugural session.

Photo courtesy: President Sulyok's Facebook page

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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