Magyar: The new Hungarian Parliament expected to be formed in early May

On Wednesday, Péter Magyar visited President Tamás Sulyok at the Presidential Palace and then held a brief press conference about their meeting. The chairman of the Tisza Party and the head of state discussed the process of the formation of the new government, and the issue of direct presidential elections also came up. (Currently, in Hungary, to be nominated for the post of president, a candidate must receive a written endorsement from at least one-fifth, or 40 members of the National Assembly, and the person who receives a majority of the votes is appointed for five years. Tamás Sulyok was appointed by the two-thirds Fidesz majority and has received much criticism for his silence on matters many expected him to take a stance on. Our previous article on why he could be the stick in the spokes of a Tisza government may be found here.)

“The President and I also discussed whether it would be worthwhile to amend the Fundamental Law to slightly strengthen the presidential powers, and whether it might be worth holding direct presidential elections. I told him that personally, even as a future prime minister, I would welcome it if we could further limit the powers currently available to the Hungarian prime minister through checks and balances, so that what has happened over the past sixteen years could not occur again,”

Péter Magyar said in response to a question from Telex.

According to the chairman of the Tisza Party, the Hungarian president currently has one of the weakest offices of any European head of state. Magyar said they intend to hold public and professional consultations on whether the next president should be elected under the current system or a new one.

Magyar asked the President to preserve what remains of the Hungarian rule of law and democracy by voluntarily stepping down from office once the change of government has taken place. The Tisza chairman also informed him that if he does not step down voluntarily, he will be removed through amending the Fundamental Law and introducing necessary legislative changes.

“The President gave a cryptic answer to my suggestion”, Magyar shared with the press. “He said that, of course, he too would like to preserve the rule of law, as well as Hungary’s reputation and renown. The President said he would consider the arguments I raised in relation to his leaving office,” Magyar said, adding that the most important thing right now is the forming of a new government. The Tisza chairman also hopes that the inaugural session of the parliament will take place after the legal challenges have been resolved.

When asked about the frozen EU funds by RTL, Magyar said they can only meet conditions that are good for the Hungarian people. In his view, the Tisza government can implement changes in four areas: anti-corruption measures; restoring the independence of the judiciary and investigative authorities; restoring press freedom; and returning autonomy to academia, universities, and research institutes.

Magyar hopes that following his visits to Warsaw and Vienna, discussions in Brussels will be able to focus on finalising the agreement so that EU funds can be released. He added that they will work to ensure that this agreement with the European Union is reached as quickly as possible, while protecting Hungarian interests. Válasz Online, meanwhile, reported that a high-level delegation from Brussels will be meeting with the Tisza Party's representatives in Budapest on Thursday.

When asked to compare his meeting with the President and his interviews at the public media right before, Péter Magyar said that if the tension during his morning interviews on public media was a 10, then the conversation he had with Sulyok deserves a 1. The President gave him a tour of the building and showed him his office. “And we looked out onto the balcony of the Karmelita (the Prime Minister’s office buildling) next door, where the outgoing prime minister was preparing for his meeting with the President,” he said.

Magyar thanked Sulyok for the invitation, who in turn informed him of the schedule for convening the new parliament. The President said he will ask Péter Magyar to serve as Prime Minister; and after Parliament elects him for the post, he will receive the mandate to form a government. According to Magyar, they also discussed the future parliamentary committees, and he shared that the Parliament’s inaugural session is expected to take place no earlier than May 4, but realistically around May 6 or 7.