Hungarian PM to remove president and other ‘Orbán puppets’ from office

Péter Magyar, Hungary's newly-minted Prime Minister, has fired a political broadside, declaring his intent to dismantle Viktor Orbán's entrenched power structure by removing the current President and other key "Orbán puppets" from office. This audacious move, announced just weeks after his Tisza Party secured a commanding parliamentary majority, signals an aggressive shift to reclaim state institutions and reverse years of Fidesz-led democratic erosion. Magyar's swift action immediately ratchets up the stakes in Budapest, challenging a system meticulously crafted by Orbán over 14 years to concentrate power. The former Fidesz insider turned opposition firebrand is leveraging his fresh mandate to target figures like the current President, Tamás Sulyok, whose role has often been seen as largely ceremonial and subservient under Orbán's long tenure. This move goes beyond mere cabinet reshuffles, directly confronting the constitutional architecture that underpinned Orbán's self-described "illiberal democracy" and its extensive network of loyalists. The proposed removals are expected to trigger intense legal and political battles, potentially testing the independence of Hungary's Constitutional Court and the resilience of its democratic institutions. Observers will be watching for pushback from Fidesz loyalists and how the European Union, which has long scrutinized Hungary's rule of law record, responds to this potential democratic reset. Magyar's ability to navigate these challenges will determine if this is a genuine institutional overhaul or merely a new chapter in Hungary's turbulent political saga.