Magyar has urged Orbán’s administration to serve as a caretaker during its remaining weeks and refrain from decisions that might jeopardize Hungary’s interests or obstruct the incoming administration’s operations.
Hungary’s Prime Minister-designate Péter Magyar announced on Wednesday that the country’s president reassured him in a meeting that the new government could assume office during the first week of May, shortening the timeline for ending Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 16-year tenure.
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After Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party won a commanding two-thirds majority in Sunday’s elections, the opposition leader pushed for a swift transition of power.
Hungarian law mandates that the inaugural session of the new parliament, which is responsible for electing a new prime minister, must be held by 12 May at the latest.
Following a private meeting with President Tamás Sulyok on Wednesday, Magyar told journalists outside the Budapest presidential palace that Sulyok confirmed Magyar as his choice for the next prime minister and indicated the inaugural session might take place on 6 or 7 May.
«(The president) believes, and I think everyone agrees, that following such a decisive endorsement from voters, a governmental and regime shift should take place promptly,» Magyar explained.
Magyar pledged to initiate a comprehensive reform of Hungary’s government framework, including the establishment of separate ministries for health, environmental protection, and education, sectors not previously organized separately under Orbán.
In his first public broadcast on Hungary’s state media in nearly two years on Wednesday morning, Magyar stated that his upcoming government would suspend the broadcaster’s news programs — long a mouthpiece for Orbán’s Fidesz party — until «conditions of independence, objectivity, and fairness are secured.»
«Ending this propaganda machine will be a cornerstone of our agenda once the Tisza government takes office,» he told the interviewer.
Magyar also urged Orbán’s administration to maintain a caretaker role in its concluding weeks, avoiding any actions that could undermine Hungary’s interests or hinder the future government’s activities.
He revealed that he requested the resignation of President Sulyok, appointed by Orbán’s parliamentary majority, once the new government is formed — a decision Sulyok said he would «consider.»
«I told him again that he lacks the merit to symbolize the unity of the Hungarian people and is unfit to uphold the law,» Magyar stated. He added that if Sulyok refuses to step down, his administration will initiate constitutional reforms to dismiss him «along with the other figures installed by the Orbán regime.»
Thanks to Tisza’s two-thirds majority in parliament, the new government holds authority to amend the constitution and reverse numerous policies implemented under Orbán.
Additional sources • AP