Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgár, widely regarded as the greatest female player in the history of the game, has declined Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s offer to become the country’s next president.
In a carefully worded Facebook post, Polgár described the nomination as one of the greatest honours of her life but said she could not accept it. She explained that she did not feel she had the strength needed to take on the historic responsibility of uniting a deeply divided country.
Her decision has dealt an embarrassing blow to the Tisza Party government during what was supposed to be a triumphant week.
It follows an unprecedented constitutional confrontation after Tisza used its parliamentary supermajority to pass the 17th amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law. The amendment included a specially drafted transitional provision allowing the government to remove President Tamás Sulyok and several other officials appointed during Viktor Orbán’s time in power.
Sulyok strongly condemned the measure as a direct attack on democracy, the rule of law, and the separation of powers. However, he ultimately signed the amendment into law, effectively bringing his own presidential term to an end.
