Hungary’s PM says he must oust Orbán’s ‘puppet’ president. Some say he’s going too far

Hungary’s new prime minister says he’s enacting the will of the people by doing everything in his power to oust his predecessor’s allies.

Parliament on Monday approved a constitutional amendment that will allow the government to fire President Tamas Sulyok, who Prime Minister Péter Magyar calls a “puppet” of former prime minister Viktor Orbán.

It’s part of a broader package of reform aimed at dismantling the political system Orbán left behind, and removing his allies from positions of power. 

Some human rights advocates have accused Magya of trampling over due process and rule-of-law in his rush to usher in Hungary’s post-Orbán era. 

Others, however, say that tough times call for tough actions. 

“We are really in a transition. I personally think that this transition requires extraordinary measures,” András Baka, former head of Hungary’s Supreme Court, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal.

“We are on the right track to re-establish our former rule-of-law state, and I think it’s a great development.”

Baka was fired from his role in the country’s top court in 2012 after speaking out against Orbán’s judicial reforms. 

President is mostly a ceremonial role in Hungary, but it’s not without power.

The president is responsible for signing legislation into law and has the power to send bills passed by Parliament to the Constitutional Court for review.

Magyar has said he fears Sulyok, an Orbán appointee, could use that power to obstruct the new ruling party as it moves the country away from the previous government’s far-right, anti-Europe and anti-2SLGBQT regime.

The prime minister has repeatedly called on Sulyok to resign. But Sulyok has maintained he has no political agenda and refused ⁠to step down.

But Magyar’s Tisza party won a landslide election victory in April, and now holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament. 

That means it can easily make constitutional changes and roll back many of the policies Orbán implemented during his 16 years in power.

This latest change, the 17th-amendment, passed on Monday with 139 votes for and six against in the 199-member Parliament. 

Lawmakers from Orbán’s Fidesz party boycotted the parliamentary session. 

Fidesz has argued that the amendment is an “unprecedented” assault on Hungary’s democratic order, and last week staged a protest in opposition to the changes, which drew around 3,000 people.

On Monday, Orbán posted a photograph of Magyar on Facebook with the subtitle, “Democratic Hungary: 1990-2026,” the period since Hungary transitioned from state socialism.

What happens next?

Sulyok needs to sign the amendment within five days for it to become law.

He has asked for an assessment of the government’s amendment from the Venice Commission, a ⁠panel of the Council of Europe human rights body, which gives advice on whether constitutional  changes are democratic.

Tisza has vowed to launch impeachment procedures against Sulyok if he doesn’t sign the amendment.

Baka says he hopes it doesn’t come to that.

“Resignation is not a political capitulation, but a correct and right act of constitutional responsibility aimed at preserving the proper functioning of the state,” he said. 

“So I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I think resignation would be the right thing.”

Human Rights Watch urges caution

Sulyok isn’t the 17th amendment’s only target.

It also sets up an office aimed at investigating financial abuses under the Orbán government, imposes a 12-year term limit on lawmakers, and sets an age limit of 70 for judges at the Constitutional Court. 

This would require its current head, Orbán ally Peter Polt, to retire. 

Human Rights Watch has criticized Magya for rushing through constitutional changes with little public consultation, instead of taking the slower step of pursuing presidential impeachment through the courts.

“Hungary’s new government has good reason to embark on a major institutional overhaul, but the ends do not justify the means in a state that respects the rule of law,” Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at the rights organization, said in a statement. 

“The progress the government makes on restoring the rule of law after years of damage is precious and fragile, and can be undone with hasty legislation that rides roughshod over due process and fairness.”

Magya, however, says ousting the president was one of his election promises and, therefore, his democratic duty.

“It would be a betrayal of the Hungarian nation if we did not  touch this constitution,” Magyar said. “We asked for and received a completely clear mandate from the Hungarian people to do this.”

While Baka supports Sulyok’s ouster, he says the amendment’s new term limits infringe on voters’ rights, while benefiting the ruling party more than the opposition.

He warns there’s “inherent danger” that any party with a super majority in Parliament could abuse its power and become “a 2.0 version of the previous system.”

He says he remains cautiously optimistic about Hungary’s future.

“We have to be very vigilant about what’s going on,” he said. “[But] in my view, as far as I see today, the country is going to the right direction.”