Tamás Sulyok will also fight to remain in office through legal means and accused the new head of government of plotting a conspiracy to gain control over state institutions, which would give him more absolute power than former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The President made these remarks in an interview published Saturday by the Brussels-based news portal Politico.

The head of state argued that Péter Magyar, who is attempting to remove him and other officials appointed during the Orbán era, is brazenly abusing his parliamentary supermajority. In the president’s view, he must therefore remain in office to protect democratic norms and the separation of powers between Parliament and the president.

No majority may grant the authority to trample on the rule of law and European values,”

Tamás Sulyok declared. He added that Péter Magyar’s party “is seeking to concentrate more power in sixteen weeks than Fidesz has in sixteen years, as it intends to de facto replace all officials elected by the previous parliament.”

“His feelings and emotions have no legal significance,” the President stated. He said he was rooting for the new Parliament and the new government, as this is in the fundamental interest of all Hungarians. Tamás Sulyok added that the constitutional crisis triggered by attempts to remove him from office must be resolved, as it “damages the country’s image and Hungary’s international reputation.”

On June 11, Tamás Sulyok announced that he had filed a motion with the Constitutional Court seeking an interpretation of the provisions governing the constitutional function, the adoption, and the amendment of the Fundamental Law. Politico noted that Tamás Sulyok also wishes to seek the Venice Commission’s opinion on resolving the “constitutional crisis” triggered by the repeated calls for Péter Magyar to resign.

The Constitutional Court stated in a press release on Friday: In connection with the President’s request for an interpretation of the Fundamental Law, seven constitutional judges asserted grounds for recusal, citing their personal and direct involvement in the matter; since the plenary session was thus unable to reach a quorum, Péter Polt, the President of the Constitutional Court, removed the case from the agenda.

FIDESZ suspects a secret agreement lies behind the decision of the seven constitutional judges—specifically between Constitutional Court Judge Marcel Szabó and Péter Magyar’s brother-in-law, Márton Melléthei-Barna (TISZA)—under which those constitutional judges who do not place the head of state’s motion on the Constitutional Court’s agenda may retain their positions.

Friday was one of the most shameful days in the history of Hungary’s constitutional order,

according to a statement from the opposition party.

As expected, Márton Melléthei-Barna denied the allegations. The TISZA politician pointed out that he could understand why the president of the Constitutional Court had tried to coordinate with the “also outgoing president,” and that he also understood that FIDESZ feared that experts—rather than their “puppets”—would soon be appointed to professional positions.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated in a video posted on Facebook on Friday evening: With their decision on Friday, the members of the Constitutional Court had determined that President Tamás Sulyok and Péter Polt must step down from office; the “unconstitutional coup attempt” by Tamás Sulyok and his supporters had finally failed.

Fact

What has “definitively failed,” however, is the head of government’s attempt to remove the president from his rightfully held office through pressure and media lynching. Instead of acting statesmanlike to de-escalate the situation, Magyar is stepping up his rhetoric and ranting about an “attempted coup,” thereby causing serious damage to the country’s reputation. Following his unprecedented self-aggrandizing display on the day of his inauguration—when, in the manner of a “caudillo,” he reviewed a military parade on the steps of Parliament—the ambitious politician now seeks to provide definitive proof that Hungary has become a banana republic where high-ranking officials can be arbitrarily removed from office.

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Via MTI; Featured image: MTI/Purger Tamás