A second round in the power fight between Tisza and Fidesz

HUNGARY - In Brief 13 Jul 2026 by Istvan Racz

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Earlier today, Tisza’s parliamentary supermajority approved a constitutional amendment, to oust the President, get rid of the head of the Constitutional Court (and three other judges in the Court, simply by reinstating a previous rule that judges must retire over the age of 70), and cancel the Fiscal Council’s veto right over any budget proposals, in addition to a few other changes. This amendment is essentially set to end the existing situation of dual power, largely removing Mr. Orbán’s chances to come back to power by undermining the Tisza government by the means of constitutional law. In addition, it leads to a situation in which the Fidesz leadership can more easily fall prey to Tisza’s anti-corruption efforts, as the new amendment also lays down the basis for the new Asset Recovery and Protection Bureau, a new prosecutor to investigate the theft and waste of public funds, to run in parallel with the existing, still Fidesz-controlled office of the Prosecutor General. To take effect, the constitutional amendment requires the signature of the President, but for the latter being a Fidesz-appointee, and as the amendment makes his office term end on the very next day after its promulgation, Mr. Sulyok is unlikely to sign it. Should he not sign it in five days, as the Constitution requires, Tisza would start an impeachment procedure, for the President not fulfilling his obligations. And even though the decision about an impeachment procedure is legally in the hands of the Constitutional Court, his presidential rights are to be exercised by the head of parliament for the time of the procedure, and being a Tisza politician, she would immediately sign the amendment, sortin...