Budapest, Hungary — Outgoing Prime Minister of Hungary viktor orban He announced in a video on social media on Saturday that he would not take up his seat in parliament after a heavy election defeat this month and would instead focus on rebuilding his nationalist-populist political community.
Hungary’s April 12 election ended Orban’s 16 years in power after voters voted overwhelmingly for a center-right challenger who promised to crack down on endemic corruption and restore Hungary’s democratic institutions that were destroyed under Orban.
That challenger is the Tisza party, led by Hungary’s incoming prime minister. peter magyarWon a two-thirds majority in parliament that would allow him to undo many of Orbán’s policies.
Since the election, the future role of the long-serving Prime Minister in Hungarian political life, and whether he will retain a role in the government, has been uncertain.
But in a video posted on Facebook, Orbán said his party’s caucus in parliament would “radically change” after the election defeat and that he would not take up his seat.
Orbán said, “Our task now is not in parliament, but in “restructuring” his political camp into what he calls the “national side”.
“I have led our community for nearly four decades,” Orban said. “This camp has always been the most cohesive and united political community in Hungary.”
Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law that were destroyed under Orbán’s rule, and hold accountable those he says were responsible for overseeing and profiting from widespread official corruption.
When the new parliament is formed on May 9, it will be the first time since Hungary’s transition from state socialism in 1990 that Orban has received no seats among lawmakers.
In his statement, Orbán suggested he would remain president of his Fidesz party after calling a party congress in June to elect its leader.
Magyar’s party won 141 out of 199 seats in parliament, the largest majority in Hungary’s post-communist history. Orban’s far-right, Eurosceptic Fidesz party will hold 52 seats, down from 135 before the election.
