Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has proposed amending the country's constitution to allow for the removal of its appointed president, potentially paving the way for direct elections.
"Just as Viktor Orbán has abandoned the Hungarian people, so Tamás Sulyok, whom he appointed, has abandoned the Hungarian republic," Magyar announced on Monday morning in front of the Sándor Palace.
"The office of the president of the republic is more important and more powerful than any individual head of state. It is in Hungary's interest that the presidency should regain the authority that has been battered in recent years by its silences, its untenable decisions and its omissions."
"I have informed the president that if he maintains his position and does not resign of his own accord, then today I will inform the Tisza MPs of his decision and we will immediately launch the necessary procedures."
The prime minister held the press conference after talks with head of state Tamás Sulyok. He did not tell journalists what kind of constitutional amendment the government is preparing, but he did announce that it would not be a tailor-made law directed at one person, but a framework that would also allow other state leaders to be removed from office.
