BUDAPEST – Hungary’s outgoing nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban said on April 25 he would step back from Parliament after his coalition suffered a crushing election defeat that ended his 16 years in power.
Mr Orban lost on April 12 to political newcomer, conservative pro-EU Peter Magyar, whose party won a two-thirds parliamentary majority in a vote marked by record turnout in the central European country.
The 62-year-old Mr Orban, who has been a continuous presence in Hungary’s Parliament, the National Assembly, since 1990, has called for a “complete renewal” of his party last week.
“Since the seat I won as the lead candidate on the Fidesz-KDNP ticket is, in fact, a parliamentary seat for Fidesz, I have decided to give it back. Right now, I am not needed in Parliament, but in the reorganisation of the national camp,” Mr Orban said in a Facebook video after a meeting by Fidesz party’s executive committee.
He said that he was ready to stay on as president of Fidesz if that’s what the party decides during its congress in June.
Mr Magyar, who won on a promise of “regime change”, has accused Mr Orban of cowardice.
“The ‘brave’ street fighter is still incapable of one thing: taking responsibility… With a mafia boss (in charge) there can be no democratic opposition,” the incoming prime minister said on Facebook.
Hungary’s National Assembly is scheduled to hold its inaugural session on May 9, when the newly elected lawmakers will take their oath of office.
Magyar’s Tisza party won 141 mandates, while Mr Orban’s Fidesz-KDNP got 52 seats, with far-right Our Homeland got 6 seats in the 199-member National Assembly. AFP
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