"It is in Hungary's interest that the institution of the president of the republic should regain its reputation, which was marred by silence, passivity, and unacceptable decisions in recent years," the prime minister said.

"I told the president that unless he resigns voluntarily, I will inform the Tisza Party group about his decision today and we will initiate the necessary procedures with no delay," he added.

Magyar also said that the proposed constitutional changes would concern all "puppet" officials whose removal he had initiated.

The constitution offers several options to remove the president including deprivation of office, Magyar said but added that "in the interest of protecting the office of president and its remaining reputation" Tisza would choose the alternative and change the fundamental law. He added that passing the amendment could take about one month.

Asked about the possibility of electing the president directly, Magyar said it would strengthen participation democracy.

The prime minister said the amendment would not be "tailored to one person" but it would be aimed "to restore Hungary's rule of law and democracy under a clear and strong authorisation from millions of Hungarians."

"Hungarians on April 12 defended a sovereign Hungary, which we will implement in legislation," Magyar said.

"The republic of Hungary does not belong to Tamas Sulyok, nor to Viktor Orban or to a party … it is the joint achievement of the Hungarian people," he said.

The prime minister said he and Justice Minister Marta Gorog had met the president "to discuss Sulyok's responsibility and to restore the reputation of one of the most important institutions of the Republic of Hungary".

The president did not resign at the meeting, Magyar said.

The president has more to do than "sign laws, present awards or appear at protocol events" the prime minister said, and added that Sulyok "chose silence in all cases without exception" on socially important and serious matters.

He said the president had not made a statement on the "pardon scandal", remained silent when "the fallen prime minister" had referred to "clearing out bugs", when the previous government had restricted the right to assembly, or when the sovereignty authority "used taxpayers' billions to stigmatize and discredit civil organizations, civilians and investigative journalists."

Sulyok was silent when members of the opposition were being monitored by the secret service, political activists were physically attacked, or when Hungarians critical of the government were regularly presented as traitors, servants of foreign interests, and internal enemies, Magyar said.

The president should have called on the government to stop inciting war against its own compatriots, Magyar said, and noted that Sulyok had told him "it was not his task".

Magyar called it "especially painful" that Sulyok had been silent on issues around ethnic Hungarian communities.

Answering a question by the public media, Magyar said removing the president would not cause delays in Hungary's accessing community funding.

Asked if access to European Union funding could be jeopardised if the president does not sign the necessary legislation into law, Magyar pointed to the constitution and said if the president resigns or is removed from their office the speaker of parliament is empowered to countersign new legislation.

The prime minister said negotiations aimed to release frozen EU funds to Hungary had not touched upon "the migration pact, the war, or gender issues".
 

Meanwhile, Magyar said he hoped that "the remaining part of the Fidesz group" would support the government's anti-corruption measures, and empowering the European Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate crimes committed in Hungary since 2021.

President Sulyok says removal could impact access to EU funds

President Tamas Sulyok on Monday warned that his removal from office could affect Hungary's access to European Union funds tied to rule-of-law conditions.

In a post on Facebook, Sulyok responded to Monday's meeting with Prime Minister Peter Magyar and Justice Minister Marta Gorog at Sandor Palace, saying that the government was assessing the constitutional role of the presidency based on "one-sided political expectations rather than the Fundamental Law".

"I made it clear once again that this provides no constitutional grounds for my resignation," Sulyok said.

"In accordance with my oath to uphold the Fundamental Law, I cannot comply with such a demand."

He added that based on the statement made by the prime minister, the government intended to amend the constitution with ad hoc legislation to remove him from his lawfully held office.

"Constitutional law calls this process a political power grab," he said.

Sulyok warned that the resulting constitutional crisis would deepen social divisions and hurt Hungary's democratic reputation abroad, potentially affecting the country's access to EU funds linked to rule-of-law conditions.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Peter Magyar told a press conference outside Sandor Palace that his Tisza Party would amend the constitution if the president did not step down.

Magyar argued that it was in Hungary's interest for the presidency to "regain the authority eroded by years of silence, negligence and unacceptable decisions".

Fidesz parliamentary group leader Gergely Gulyas condemned the new government's treatment of the president as "unworthy".

In a video posted on Facebook, Gulyas said that in a constitutional democracy, it was "unthinkable to forcibly remove a president from office before the end of their term".

Magyar: Removal of president to cause no delays in accessing EU funds

Removing the president of the republic will cause no delays in Hungary's accessing community funding, the prime minister told a press conference held in front of the presidential Sandor Palace on Monday.

Peter Magyar spoke after talks with President Tamas Sulyok, attended by Justice Minister Marta Gorog.

Asked if access to European Union funding could be jeopardised if the president does not sign the necessary legislation into law, Magyar pointed to the constitution and said that if the president resigns or is removed from their office the speaker of parliament is empowered to countersign new legislation.

Fidesz: 'Forcibly removing president typical of dictatorship'

"Presidents of the republic are only forced out or removed by blackmail or threats in a dictatorship," opposition Fidesz said in a statement on Monday, in reaction to the prime minister's proposal of constitutional changes to remove the president.

"Peter Magyar's unlawful ultimatum is constitutionally void. From a human aspect it is pathetic and ridiculous," Fidesz said.

The prime minister bears political and criminal responsibility "for his violent conduct threatening Hungary's democracy and state order," Fidesz said.

The opposition called on Justice Minister Marta Gorog, who accompanied the prime minister for his talks with the president, to remember that she had pledged "to build a state in which the power of the law ensures uniform standards for everybody … constitutional stability and a rule of law."

Fidesz group leader Gergely Gulyas called the Tisza government's treatment of the president "unfair".

He said the president "cannot be removed through a constitutional amendment, through retroactive legislation in a constitutional democracy."

Using such means by the ruling majority would "involve power games that could weaken the institution of the president of the republic … it would undermine the dignity of the Hungarian state, lead to the beheading of the highest public dignitaries and cause long-term damage," Gulyas said.

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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