Hungary's Prime Minister Magyar wants to nominate chess grandmaster Judit Polgár as President

The removal of Tamás Sulyok took effect on Monday following a constitutional amendment passed the previous week. Sulyok had been appointed President by Viktor Orbán and was considered a confidant of the former Prime Minister. "Nach der am Montag wirksam gewordenen Absetzung von Staatspräsident Tamás Sulyok durch eine Verfassungsnovelle" he lost his office. On Saturday, Sulyok had criticised the constitutional amendment but acknowledged that he had no means to resist it.

Background: Sulyok's Removal

Prime Minister Magyar explained his move on Sunday evening via the platform Facebook. He described the name Judit Polgár as "Synonym für Talent und Ausdauer". In the post, he further stated: "Ich habe sie vor ein paar Tagen getroffen und gefragt, ob sie bereit wäre, unserem Land in einer neuen Rolle zu dienen, bis die neue Verfassung angenommen wird". Magyar called it a "große Ehre, wenn sie das Angebot annehmen würde". Her recognition, he said, was owed "nicht politischen Bindungen oder Beziehungen, sondern ihrem Ausnahmetalent, ihrem Fleiß, ihrer beispiellosen Belastungsfähigkeit und ihrer Korrektheit".

In his speech in Parliament on Monday, however, Magyar did not mention Polgár's name. "Polgárs Namen erwähnte er aber nicht. Zugleich betonte er, dass die Diskussion weiter offen sei und dass es auch nur um ein „Provisorium" gehe," according to the reporting. The final decision on the candidacy is to be made only at the next faction meeting of the Tisza Party.

Who Is Judit Polgár?

Judit Polgár, who turns 50 on 23 July, is regarded as the greatest chess player in history. In 1989, at the age of twelve, she became the number one in the women's world rankings and held this position until the end of her career in 2014 – a total of around 26 years uninterrupted. As early as 1985, she had won her first international tournament at the age of nine. Polgár is the only woman ever to have reached the global Top Ten across all categories as well as the men's world Top Ten. She defeated, among others, world champions Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, and Magnus Carlsen.

After the end of her active chess career, Polgár is committed to children and young people through the "Judit-Polgár-Schachstiftung". The foundation supports "Kinder und Jugendliche beim Entwickeln von Problemlösungskapazitäten und logischem Denken". Beyond her chess career, she publicly advocates for equal opportunity and the advancement of women. In an article in The Guardian, she wrote in 2019: „Auch wenn Frauen anders denken und sich im Wettbewerb anders verhalten, können sie die gleichen Leistungen erbringen wie Männer – sei es in der Wissenschaft, in der Kunst oder im Schach". She also speaks openly about her Jewish identity and describes herself as a proud Hungarian Jew. Some of her relatives were murdered in the Holocaust; her grandmother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Magyar's move did not meet with approval only within his own party. Faction leader Andrea Bujdosó stated: „Judit Polgár ist eine für dieses Amt berufene Persönlichkeit, sie ist in der Lage, die Einheit der Nation zu verkörpern" and „Die gesamte Fraktion stehe hinter ihr als geeignetste Kandidatin für das Amt des Staatsoberhauptes". According to other reports, however, the proposal has split Magyar's camp. Critics also argued that Magyar had not conducted the process as a genuine social dialogue. Péter Krekó, director of the think tank Political Capital, criticised that Magyar's Facebook verdict was "nicht gerade als Teil eines wirklichen gesellschaftlichen Debattenprozesses" to be assessed. Krekó nevertheless described Polgár as an "ausgezeichnete Kandidatin", since she had reached "in einem von Männern beherrschten Sport [...] starken geschlechtlichen Stereotypen trotzend, an die absolute Weltspitze" and would "seit Jahrzehnten aufgrund ihrer herausragenden Rolle im Schach auf dem internationalen Parkett und den damit einhergehenden Begegnungen mit Staats- und Regierungschefs souverän bewegen".

Reactions and Criticism

Critics also object that Polgár has no political experience and no legal training. "Polgár verfüge über keine politische Erfahrung und habe keine juristische Ausbildung, wurde bemängelt. Wo sei sie in den 16 langen Jahren der Herrschaft des Rechtspopulisten Viktor Orbán geblieben?" according to critical statements. Magyar countered "dass für die Qualifikation als Staatsoberhaupt keine politische Vortätigkeit und auch kein Jus-Studium nötig seien".

Magyar's Tisza Party was equipped with a two-thirds majority in the April parliamentary election. The faction "verfügt über 141 von 199 Abgeordneten", which enables Magyar to push through constitutional amendments. With this majority, Parliament had already resolved the removal of Sulyok. The election victory ended a 16-year rule of the right-national government of Viktor Orbán, and Magyar was elected as the new Prime Minister. Subsequently, the EU released previously frozen funds, including an amount of more than 16 billion euros.

In the long term, Magyar plans a fundamental reform of the office of President. "Ab Herbst nämlich werde ein neuer Verfassungsgebungsprozess beginnen, unter maximaler Einbeziehung der Bevölkerung". The transitional solution he proposes envisages that the head of state elected by Parliament would remain in office for only one to two years, until a new constitution is adopted by referendum and a president directly elected by the people takes over the office. Magyar had previously spoken out in favour of the popular election of the president, "wie etwa in Österreich". He also formulated the demand: „Unser Land braucht Einheit, Frieden und einen Präsidenten, auf den alle Ungarn stolz sein können".

Political Context and Power Relations

Already on Saturday, Magyar had called on citizens to propose candidates for the office of head of state. In his parliamentary speech, he called on parties and civil society to declare whom they consider worthy and why. He announced that in the coming days he would work towards "dass die TISZA-Partei zusammen mit Oppositionsfraktionen und der Zivilgesellschaft eine geeignete Person für das Amt finde".

Polgár herself had "vorerst noch nicht dazu geäußert, ob sie die Nominierung für das höchste Staatsamt annehmen würde". She is "die politisch bisher nicht in Erscheinung trat" and has only loose connections to political parties. Her popularity in Hungary, however, remains unbroken. In an interview, she stated: „In unserer Multitasking-Welt sind Kreativität, logisches Denken und die Fähigkeit, Probleme zu lösen und gute Entscheidungen zu treffen, essentiell". About her motivation, she said: „Sie sollen große Träume haben, die richtigen Schritte im Leben gehen, sich hohe Ziele setzen und das Unmögliche erreichen".

Outlook: Transitional Solution and Constitutional Reform

Magyar had described the removed President Sulyok and other senior state officials as "Marionetten" of his predecessor. The President has, under the current Hungarian constitution, only "ziemlich beschränkte" powers in any case. This would make the office appear feasible even for a politically inexperienced figure such as Polgár. The succession decision is considered the first major test for Magyar's new government after the change of power.

The Tisza Party sees in Polgár a candidate who can embody national unity. Bujdosó affirmed: „Dies sei der einmütige Standpunkt der Fraktion". At the same time, it remains to be seen how the reports of division within the party itself will affect the nomination process. The coming days until the next Tisza Party faction meeting are likely to show whether Magyar's initiative holds up or whether another candidate will be brought into play.

Polgár's Attitude and Motives

Magyar also justified his step by saying that he did not want to determine the president "nicht in Hinterzimmern oder Zigarrenclubs". With the solution now proposed, the broadest possible transparent