After Sulyok's Removal, Orbán Calls for "National Resistance" Against Magyar's Government

Resignation of the Prosecutor General

Already on Wednesday, the Prosecutor General appointed under Orbán, Gabor Balint Nagy, had resigned. He cited hostilities from Magyar, who had previously called him Orbán's "Marionette." Nagy said the attacks on him had "far exceeded the limits of an acceptable professional and public debate."

In Parliament, meanwhile, Janos Boka took over the chairmanship of the FIDESZ parliamentary group after the resignation of Gergely Gulyas the previous week. Orbán announced a nationwide debate for September on the draft of a new constitution, which would ultimately be adopted by referendum. According to his own statements, Magyar plans to reverse reforms from the Orbán era with a series of further constitutional amendments.

Search for a New President

Magyar had originally proposed chess grandmaster Judit Polgar as Sulyok's successor for the presidency. However, Polgar declined, stating: "I don't feel that I have the strength to take on the historic responsibility of unifying a divided nation." At the same time, she said she wanted "to support a new, independent and respected President of the Republic in achieving these goals" – according to her own words, with all her strength.

Who Magyar will ultimately propose as the next candidate for the office of President remained initially open. Polgar is the only woman in chess history to have been in the global top ten in all categories simultaneously, and was the number one on the women's world ranking list for roughly a quarter of a century.

Reactions and Outlook

During Orbán's term in office, the EU had repeatedly criticized the rule of law in Hungary and subsequently froze billions of euros in EU funds. Under Orbán's influence, according to consistent reports, the Constitutional Court and the Prosecutor General's office had come under political influence.

According to his own words, Orbán had reshaped state institutions, universities, and media in his favor during his 16 years in office. At his press conference, he called Sulyok "the last legitimate head of state" and promised "to restore the democratic rule of law in Hungary." His diagnosis was nevertheless bleak: "In Hungary, the age of tyranny has begun again."

Since the election in April, Magyar's TISZA party holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament and can thus pass constitutional amendments on its own. The dispute between government and opposition thus threatens to escalate into a fundamental confrontation over Hungary's political direction.