Hungarian lawmakers voted Monday to amend the constitution and remove President Tamás Sulyok [1, 2, 4].
The move represents a significant effort by the current administration to dismantle the lingering influence of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over the state's highest offices.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar led the push for the constitutional tweak, arguing that the presidency must be independent of previous political regimes. Magyar said Sulyok is a "puppet of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán" [1, 3]. The prime minister said the 70-year-old [3] is unworthy of the post [2].
The vote in Budapest marks a sharp break from the political alignment of the previous era. By changing the constitution to allow for the removal of the president, the parliament is actively reducing the power base of Orbán's allies within the government structure [3, 4].
Sulyok, who has served as a close associate of the former premier, now faces removal as the government seeks to redefine the role of the presidency. The parliamentary action on Monday ensures that the legal mechanism for his ouster is now in place [1, 2, 4].
Magyar has framed the removal as a necessary step for the country's governance. He said the change is required to ensure the office is no longer used as a tool for the former administration's interests [1, 3].
“He is a puppet of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.”
This constitutional amendment signals a systemic purge of Viktor Orbán's influence from the Hungarian state. By targeting the presidency through a legal rewrite rather than a standard impeachment, Prime Minister Péter Magyar is establishing a precedent that can be used to further insulate the government from the former premier's network of allies.
