Power struggle explodes in Hungary’s top leadership

Péter Magyar built his political rise on a promise to break with the way politics had long been conducted in Hungary. That message ultimately propelled him to victory over former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in April, ending more than a decade of Fidesz-led rule in Budapest.

Since taking office in May, however, Magyar has continued his campaign against figures he associates with the previous administration. One of his main targets has been President Tamás Sulyok, whose resignation he has repeatedly demanded. After weeks of increasingly public confrontation, the dispute has now entered a new phase, as Hungarian media outlets underscore.

Sulyok appears to believe the prime minister has crossed a constitutional line with his calls for his resignation and has now formally asked the Venice Commission to assess this erupting conflict.

In a statement issued by the Sándor Palace on May 29, the president announced that he had requested the involvement of the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body — formally known as the European Commission for Democracy through Law — to examine what he described as a “deeply contradictory constitutional situation” surrounding the presidency.

Since the Tisza party's landslide victory in the April 12 election, Magyar has repeatedly argued that senior public officials appointed during the Orbán era should step down, with Sulyok becoming a particular focus of that campaign. The pressure has intensified steadily in recent weeks through speeches, interviews and public appearances.

The most striking confrontation came during the inaugural session of Hungary’s new parliament on May 9. After taking the oath of office, Magyar used his first major address as prime minister to publicly demand Sulyok’s resignation while the president sat only a few metres away.

“Tamás Sulyok should be the first to do so,” Magyar declared when urging senior officials linked to the previous government to leave their posts.

He went further, warning that if the president did not resign voluntarily by May 31, parliament could begin impeachment proceedings against him — a step that would be unprecedented in modern Hungarian history.

During the remarks, Sulyok was seen smiling and nodding rather than responding directly, although he was not scheduled to speak during the session.

Magyar has repeatedly argued that the presidency became too closely associated with the former Fidesz-KDNP government, an accusation that Sulyok firmly rejects. In recent interviews, the president has maintained that there is “no legal or constitutional reason” for him to resign and has stressed that his oath obliges him to uphold Hungary’s constitutional order regardless of political changes.

The latest statement from the presidency suggests Sulyok now views the dispute as something that extends beyond normal political disagreement. According to the Sándor Palace, demands for the removal of a head of state on purely political grounds are incompatible with Hungary’s Fundamental Law and risk undermining both the functioning and authority of the presidential institution.

The Venice Commission, based in Strasbourg and composed of constitutional law experts from across Europe, provides legal opinions on constitutional and rule-of-law disputes within member states. While its opinions are not legally binding, they often carry considerable political influence within European institutions.

By Nazrin Sadigova