On Saturday, July 18th, President Tamás Sulyok announced that he had signed the 17th amendment to the Basic Law, which formally terminates his mandate the day after it takes effect. In a video address, Sulyok explained that because the president has no constitutional authority to refer constitutional amendments to the Constitutional Court for substantive review, he had no legal tool to block the measure. Despite fulfilling his legal obligation to sign, Sulyok delivered a scathing critique of the legislation, calling it a “grave and shameful historical example of the abuse of political power,” that dismantles Hungary’s post-1989 democratic state and strips the presidency of its role as an independent check on executive power.
On Sunday, July 19th, a group of prominent Hungarian public figures from science, culture, and sports submitted an open letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ágnes Forsthoffer—now serving as an interim president—proposing chess legend Judit Polgár to fill the role of head of state. Reacting to the proposal on social media, Prime Minister Péter Magyar endorsed the nomination on his Facebook page, stating that he would meet with Polgár on Monday and that it would be a major honor if she accepted the role. Magyar described Polgár as a figure of global achievement whose integrity stands above party politics, making her uniquely suited to represent national unity.
Whoever ends up as Sulyok’s successor after interim president Forsthoffer, they will serve only until a new constitution is adopted or for a maximum of five years.
The opposition Fidesz party quickly dismissed the nomination, focusing their criticism on the political circumstances of the selection process rather than on Polgár herself. Fidesz Communications Director Bertalan Havasi stated that the identity of the nominee is completely irrelevant given the current constitutional environment. Havasi argued that Hungary is experiencing a period of authoritarian rule under the Tisza party, where the rule of law has ceased to exist. The floating of Polgár’s name is nothing but “eyewash” and “puppetry,” designed to distract the public from the unconstitutional removal of President Tamás Sulyok.
Other critics also remind that Magyar had said there would be social consultation about the ideal candidate for the interim president, but that never happened.
