Hungary’s outgoing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, called for a “complete renewal” of his party after Sunday’s election defeat that ended 16 years in power.
“We cannot continue the way we have been operating until now,” Orbán said in his first interview since the defeat, broadcast live on the YouTube channel Patrióta.
“A complete renewal is needed, and this applies not only to Fidesz, but to the entire national side,” he said.
After a “significant” loss, Orbán said he was “trying to somehow come out of this shock” and that, as party leader, he took “full responsibility”.
“The first and most important task is to manage the handover of government,” he said, adding, “the process was already underway.”
“The second task is to convene the necessary bodies for renewal, such as the national assembly of delegates and the party congress. This work is already ongoing,” he added.
The outgoing prime minister has also decided to skip a final EU summit next week in Cyprus before formally handing over to Magyar in early May.
“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not attend the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government on April 23–24 due to his duties related to the handover of government,” Hungary’s EU minister János Bóka wrote on Facebook earlier Thursday.
His absence will spare him a potential showdown over his continued veto of a 90-billion-euro EU loan for Ukraine.
