Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced that he intends to hold another personal meeting with President Tamás Sulyok in an effort to persuade him to heed the government’s calls and resign. In an interview with ATV on Tuesday evening, Magyar reaffirmed his position regarding the constitutional standoff between his government and public office-holders appointed under the leadership of Viktor Orbán.
Asked whether the dispute had effectively stalled pending a Venice Commission opinion and possible constitutional amendments, Magyar rejected that suggestion outright. He stressed that he respects the institution of the presidency and had repeatedly sought a negotiated solution, but argued that Hungarian voters had given his government a clear mandate to replace senior office-holders who, in his view, remained silent while democratic institutions were weakened during the previous administration.
‘I very much respect the institution of the president of the republic,’ Magyar said, adding that he had tried several times to reach an agreement with Sulyok personally. However, he insisted that officials who ‘watched in silence’ while the ‘rule of law was dismantled, vulnerable children were neglected, and public assets were misused’ could not remain in office.
Magyar also connected the dispute to his broader constitutional reform agenda. Reiterating earlier proposals, he argued that Hungary should eventually move towards the direct election of the president, giving the office a stronger democratic mandate and greater independence from parliamentary majorities.
‘Magyar acknowledged that the Tisza Party does not yet have a specific candidate for the presidency should such elections take place’
He suggested that the country needs a head of state capable of representing the entire nation rather than any particular political camp. The proposal forms part of a wider package of institutional reforms that Tisza has pledged to pursue with its constitutional supermajority. In response to a question, Magyar acknowledged that the Tisza Party does not yet have a specific candidate for the presidency should such elections take place.
The clash between the government and the president has steadily intensified since Tisza’s landslide election victory in April, which ended the 16-year rule of Viktor Orbán and Fidesz and simultaneously gave Tisza a constitutional supermajority. Since taking office, Magyar has repeatedly called on Sulyok and several other office-holders appointed during the Orbán era to resign voluntarily, arguing that voters endorsed a broader ‘regime change’ rather than merely a change of government.
President Sulyok has consistently rejected those demands, maintaining that constitutional offices derive their legitimacy from the Fundamental Law rather than shifting political majorities.
Sulyok recently gave a lengthy interview to the Swiss weekly Weltwoche, in which he argued that Magyar’s repeated demands had effectively removed the possibility of a voluntary resignation. According to the president, once a prime minister publicly orders a head of state to step down and threatens removal through legal means, the constitutional duty of the president becomes to remain in office and defend the constitutional order.
Sulyok argued that there was ‘certainly one case’ in which a Hungarian president could not resign: if the prime minister ordered him to do so. He warned that politically motivated attempts to remove a sitting head of state could endanger democracy, the rule of law, and Hungary’s constitutional system. The president also defended his independence, rejected accusations that he is a political ‘puppet’, and confirmed that he had sought guidance from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission regarding what he described as an emerging constitutional crisis.
Beyond the constitutional dispute, Magyar used the ATV interview to highlight the achievements of his government’s first month in office. He pointed to negotiations with Brussels that could unlock approximately €16.4 billion in previously frozen EU funding and argued that the breakthrough demonstrated that the dispute with the EU had always centred on corruption and transparency concerns rather than migration or ideological disagreements.
The prime minister also announced the submission of a major anti-corruption package that would significantly strengthen the powers of the Integrity Authority, the anti-corruption watchdog established in 2022 as part of reforms agreed with the European Commission.
‘Sulyok…argued that Magyar’s repeated demands had effectively removed the possibility of a voluntary resignation’
Under the proposed legislation, the authority would gain expanded investigative powers, greater oversight of politicians’ asset declarations, and the ability to challenge decisions before the courts. Magyar said that intentionally filing a seriously false asset declaration could become punishable by up to two years in prison. He also defended plans to increase transparency around private equity funds and return most public-interest asset-management foundations to state ownership.
Magyar further highlighted what he described as a breakthrough in negotiations with Ukraine over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. According to the prime minister, Hungarian and Ukrainian negotiators have reached a technical-level agreement on language, cultural, and minority-rights guarantees, which Kyiv has agreed to incorporate into its EU accession commitments.
While reiterating that Hungary does not support any accelerated accession process for Ukraine, he described the agreement as a significant diplomatic achievement after years of deadlock.
Watch the full interview below:
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