BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced Saturday through a social media video that he will skip taking his parliament seat after suffering a crushing defeat in this month’s election, choosing instead to concentrate on restructuring his nationalist political movement.
The April 12 election marked the conclusion of Orbán’s 16-year tenure when Hungarian citizens voted decisively for a center-right opponent who campaigned on promises to combat widespread corruption and restore the country’s democratic systems that had weakened during Orbán’s administration.
The victorious challenger, Péter Magyar of the Tisza party who will become Hungary’s new Prime Minister, secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority that will enable his government to reverse numerous policies implemented by Orbán.
Questions about the former prime minister’s political future and potential government involvement had remained unanswered since the election results.
However, in his Facebook video announcement, Orbán declared that his party’s parliamentary delegation would undergo “radical transformation” following the electoral defeat, and confirmed he would forgo his legislative seat.
“Our task now is not in parliament,” Orbán stated, but rather in the “reorganization” of his political faction that he refers to as the “national side.”
“I have led our community for nearly four decades,” Orbán commented. “This camp has always been the most united and cohesive political community in Hungary.”
Magyar has promised to rebuild democratic institutions and legal frameworks that deteriorated during Orbán’s leadership, while also pursuing accountability for individuals he claims oversaw and profited from extensive government corruption.
When Hungary’s new parliament convenes on May 9, it will mark the first occasion since the country’s 1990 transition from state socialism that Orbán will not hold a legislative position.
In his announcement, Orbán indicated he plans to continue as Fidesz party president following the party’s June leadership election.
Magyar’s party captured 141 of 199 parliamentary seats, representing the largest majority in Hungary’s post-Communist era. Orbán’s far-right, eurosceptic Fidesz party will hold 52 seats, a significant drop from their previous 135 seats.
