Orbán Criticises Magyar Government, Asks in Russian: “What Is to Be Done?”

Dragon Media News Desk

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused the government led by current Prime Minister Péter Magyar of attempting to eliminate its political opponents.

Speaking at an annual event in Băile Tușnad, Romania, on Saturday, Orbán said in Russian, “Что делать?” meaning “What is to be done?” He invoked the title of the well-known novel by Russian writer Nikolai Chernyshevsky while commenting on Hungary’s current political situation.

Orbán alleged that the Magyar government’s actions were aimed at removing major political rivals from national politics. He argued that citizens could become vulnerable to the state if political alternatives were systematically weakened.

His remarks came several days after the term of Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok was brought to an end.

On July 13, parliament, where Magyar’s Tisza Party holds a two-thirds majority, approved a constitutional amendment. Sulyok signed the amendment on July 18, bringing his presidency to an end.

The Magyar government had accused Sulyok of remaining under the influence of the former Orbán administration and failing to represent constitutional balance and national unity. It described the change as part of an effort to restore the rule of law.

Orbán and his Fidesz party, however, have characterised the termination of the president’s mandate, the retroactive introduction of a 12-year term limit for lawmakers and moves to remove officials appointed during the Orbán era as political retaliation and the beginning of authoritarian rule.

Orbán has announced plans to organise a peaceful “resistance movement” against the Magyar government.

Magyar’s Tisza Party ended Orbán’s 16-year rule in the parliamentary election held in April. Since then, the new government has launched efforts to restructure public media, judicial bodies and other state institutions shaped during the Orbán era.

The government describes the programme as a democratic reform initiative, while Fidesz argues that it is an attempt to eliminate opposition forces through institutional means.