The Hungarian parliament passed a complex constitutional amendment on Monday evening, which – among other measures – ends the current president’s mandate in a single sentence: “On the day following the entry into force of this constitutional amendment, the mandate of the President shall terminate.”
Tamas Sulyok now faces a stark choice: either he signs his own dismissal within five days or faces impeachment. In both cases, the political battle is likely to be won by Hungary’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar.
Magyar made no secret of his intentions before the April 12 general election. One of his key promises was to dismiss the appointees of his predecessor Viktor Orban, among them the president, the chief prosecutor and the president of the Supreme Court – all regarded as Orban loyalists who would likely take steps to block the workings of a new government, especially if it had won the election by a narrow margin.
In the event, however, Magyar’s Tisza party won by a landslide and holds a majority able to amend the constitution and rewrite so-called cardinal laws – just as Orban’s Fidesz party did during its 16 years in power.
Read more here.
