Hungary’s PM launches drive to free country from Orban’s ‘mafia’

Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar has launched a wide-ranging reform drive aimed at pulling the state out of the captivity into which it was forced by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

In a fiery speech to parliament on Monday, Magyar announced a raft of economic, political and legal measures dubbed “Operation Cleansing Fire”. The plan will see the Tisza Party government install a new constitution, purge the country’s institutions, establish a new anti-corruption office, and unseat the president.

“We will free our country from the captivity of the political and economic mafia that has ruled for the past 16 years,” Magyar said.

Magyar took office in April, unseating the former prime minister after 16 years of rule. Orban’s Fidesz party had spent that time using its majority to seize control of virtually every lever of power in Hungary. It was also accused of organising systemic corruption, pushing Hungary closer to Russia, and sowing discord within the European Union.

Tisza now faces a daunting task to untangle that web, to rid Hungary of corruption and to remove key Orban allies throughout the power pyramid.

The proposed changes are part of a reform race for Magyar’s government. Using Tisza’s constitutional majority, he is pushing to fulfil a deal with the EU to implement reforms that would unlock a total of 16.4 billion euros ($19bn) in funds – frozen due to rule of law concerns during Orban’s reign – by the end of August.

Key to that drive is the removal of President Tamas Sulyok. Magyar has called on the head of state – appointed by Orban – to resign, and on Monday proposed a constitutional amendment for his removal.

The president of Hungary has few formal powers, but can slow the adoption of legislation by returning it to parliament or forwarding it to the Constitutional Court.

Sulyok has maintained he had no political agenda. Fidesz lawmaker Gergely Gulyas called Magyar’s speech on Monday “slanderous and appalling”.

Magyar’s plans would see the election of a new president, for a maximum of five years, if Sulyok is removed.

A constitutional review, complete with public discussions, would, meanwhile, kick off in September and be subject to a referendum.

Other changes would set an age limit of 70 for judges at the Constitutional Court, forcing Orban ally Peter Polt to retire as head judge, and limit lawmakers’ terms to 12 years.

Citing figures that corruption has cost Hungarians 8 to 10 percent of gross domestic product in recent years, Magyar vowed that Hungary’s top talent would field the new anti-corruption authority.

“The best police officers, the best investigators and the best experts will work for this agency,” Magyar said.

Earlier this month, the Hungarian parliament passed a constitutional amendment limiting prime ministerial terms to eight years, effectively preventing Orban from returning in the future.

MPs also voted to scrap a provision underlying the establishment of the so-called Sovereignty Protection Office, which was created in 2023 to protect Hungary from “foreign influence” and was used to investigate critics of Orban.

Closing the office was among the priorities that rights group Human Rights Watch recommended in April, alongside “moving quickly to meet the rule of law milestones” required for the EU funds, including judicial independence and anti-corruption safeguards.