Hungary’s New Prime Minister Moves To Bar Orbán From Returning To Power

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

BUDAPEST/WARSAW (Worthy News) – Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his governing Tisza party have submitted their first constitutional amendment to parliament in a move that would prevent longtime premier Viktor Orbán from ever returning to power.

The proposal, promised by Magyar during his election campaign, would limit any Hungarian premier to a maximum of two terms.

Under the draft text, “a person who has served as prime minister for at least eight years in total, including interruptions, may not be elected prime minister again.”

The calculation would include any premiership beginning on or after May 2, 1990, effectively covering Orbán’s years in office following Hungary’s post-communist transition.

Orbán had faced years of disputes with the European Union over rule-of-law and corruption concerns, as well as what critics described as a gradual crackdown on previously independent institutions ranging from the media and judiciary to academia and even churches.

INVESTIGATIONS LAUNCHED

The move came as new parliamentary committees were also being established to investigate alleged child abuse in state institutions, controversial presidential pardons, and corruption.

The constitutional proposal was announced on the same day Magyar paid his first official foreign visit as prime minister to Poland, where he met Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Before arriving in Warsaw, Magyar traveled to the historic southern Polish city of Krakow, describing it as a symbolic gesture aimed at restoring the centuries-old friendship between Hungary and Poland.

During the visit, he laid a wreath at the monument to Pope John Paul II at Wawel Cathedral and later held a media briefing in Krakow before continuing to Warsaw for official talks.

Magyar also visited historic religious sites and recalled the sacrifices of Poles and Hungarians who saved Jews during World War II.

WORLD WAR TWO REMEMBRANCE

He specifically mentioned Polish diplomat Henryk Sławik and Hungarian government commissioner József Antall Sr., who helped rescue about 30,000 Polish refugees, including some 5,000 Jews, during the war.

“One of them was executed by the Gestapo, the other imprisoned,” Magyar said, adding that modern Europe must remain worthy of those who risked their lives to defend human dignity during the Holocaust.

The Krakow stop also carried emotional significance in Poland because Wawel Cathedral has long served as a site of national remembrance, including memorial tributes connected to the 2010 Smolensk air disaster that killed President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of senior Polish political, military, and religious leaders.

Tusk warmly welcomed Magyar, calling his election victory “historic” and saying it marked not only Hungary’s return to Europe, high standards, honesty, and democracy, but also a signal that “democracy, the rule of law, dignity, and morality are not lost causes.”

Tusk said Polish-Hungarian relations had suffered during the Orbán years but suggested that Magyar’s leadership offered a chance to restore the traditional friendship between the two nations.

VISEGRÁD GROUP REVIVAL

The two leaders said Warsaw and Budapest would cooperate more closely on energy security, with Hungary aiming to end its dependence on Russian energy by 2035 at the latest.

Tusk said Poland was ready to share its experience after reducing its own dependence on Russian gas and oil through diversification and new infrastructure.

Magyar said Hungary welcomed Polish support and expertise in energy, infrastructure, defense, the rule of law, EU funding, and the fight against corruption.

He also invited Tusk and the leaders of Slovakia and Czechia to a Visegrád summit in Budapest before the end of Hungary’s Visegrád presidency on June 30.

The Visegrád Group, often called the V4, is a regional alliance created in 1991 by Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia to coordinate cooperation on European, economic, and security issues following the fall of communism.

Magyar said he wanted not only to revive the alliance after years of tensions, but also expand cooperation with Scandinavian countries, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Western Balkan nations.

UKRAINE AND EU TALKS

He argued that Central Europe must regain influence within the European Union and said Visegrád cooperation could again become a key force in European politics.

The Hungarian leader also confirmed that his government was ready to cooperate with Poland over former Polish officials wanted by Warsaw in connection with alleged abuses of power.

He said one former Polish justice official had left for the United States, while another reportedly departed Hungary for Serbia before Magyar was sworn in as prime minister on May 9.

Magyar also discussed Ukraine with Tusk, saying Kyiv was the victim of Russian aggression and had the right to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

However, he stressed that Hungary’s approval for opening the first chapter of Ukraine’s European Union accession talks depended on improved rights for the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.

STARTING TECHNICAL TALKS

He said technical talks had begun on language, cultural, and other minority rights, adding that he hoped to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in early June in Berehove, a Hungarian-majority town in western Ukraine.

Magyar said improved minority rights were a precondition for Hungary to approve the opening of the first chapter of Ukraine’s EU accession talks, which focuses on the rule of law and democracy.

His comments came as Hungary also opened talks this week with the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on releasing billions of euros in frozen or delayed EU funds. Brussels has made tackling corruption and improving the rule of law among the key conditions for transferring money to Budapest.

Tusk said Poland and Hungary would work together on a common European approach toward Ukraine while also taking into account their own national experiences and interests.

Magyar and members of his cabinet traveled to Poland on commercial flights and trains following scandals surrounding the extensive use of private jets and government aircraft by the previous Orbán administration and businessmen allied to it.

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