Fidesz, the party of former prime minister Viktor Orbán, has warned that the election of a new president would be legally invalid, arguing that any decision taken by the incoming head of state could be annulled. The party said the process had left the office in a state of legal uncertainty that could not later be repaired.
Fidesz MP Balázs Orbán, a leading adviser to Viktor Orbán and no relation, said the objection was not to the record or qualifications of chess grandmaster Judit Polgár but to the legal basis for her election. He told the news site Telex that her decisions would be void and could be revoked at any time.
The warning followed the passage this month of the 17th amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law, which brought an end to the presidency of Tamás Sulyok and gave parliament 30 days to elect a successor. Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s Tisza party pushed the change through by 139 votes to six, with Fidesz boycotting the sitting.
Fidesz has also accused the European Union of applying double standards, saying Brussels repeatedly challenged constitutional changes under Orbán yet has stayed largely silent as Magyar rewrites the country’s basic law. The party has argued that reforms such as term limits should not apply to mandates already underway.
Polgár, who retired in 2014 as the strongest female chess player in history, was put forward for the post by figures from Hungarian science, culture and sport. Magyar said he would meet her to ask whether she would serve as interim president until a new constitution takes effect.
The Prime Minister said the country needed unity and a head of state every Hungarian could be proud of, and described Polgár as such a figure. He has framed the presidency as a form of public service rather than a political office.
The amendment forms part of Magyar’s drive to dismantle institutions built during Orbán’s 16 years in power. It also imposed a limit of 12 years on time served as an MP and lowered the retirement age for Constitutional Court judges, forcing out the court’s president and Orbán ally Péter Polt.
Sulyok, who signed the amendment at the weekend, said he had been left no lawful choice though he warned that it had damaged the rule of law. He had earlier referred the reform to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.
Parliament speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer was to serve as interim president until a successor is chosen. Polgár had not publicly responded to Magyar’s offer.
