The presidential nomination process sparked widespread backlash
BUDAPEST – Hungary’s pro-EU government is facing its first political setback after a botched presidential nomination process dented support for Péter Magyar, the prime minister.
A July Medián poll showed support for the pro-EU Tisza falling from 61% in May to 57%, while former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s national-conservative Fidesz edged up to 19%. A separate Publicus poll found Magyar’s suitability rating as prime minister dropped from 72% to 62% over the same period.
The decline is closely linked to the “Judit Polgár affair”. Following the forced ousting of former President Tamás Sulyok, Magyar swiftly proposed the world-renowned chess grandmaster to fill the vacancy. Polgár publicly declined, saying she lacked the strength to unite a divided nation.
The nomination process itself sparked widespread backlash. Magyar had campaigned in 2025 for direct presidential elections, promising to end the Fidesz-era practice of selecting “reliable comrades in smoke-filled party backrooms”. But his unilateral choice of Polgár involved no public consultation.
