Budapest is experiencing a political earthquake. Prime Minister Péter Magyar is moving at breakneck speed to tear down the remnants of Viktor Orbán's 16-year regime. The newest target isn't just another bureaucrat. It's the country's president, Tamás Sulyok.
By utilizing a freshly won parliamentary supermajority, Magyar's government is pushing through a constitutional amendment explicitly designed to boot the sitting president out of office. It's an aggressive, unprecedented maneuver that has sent shockwaves through Central Europe and sparked a fierce debate about the line between restoring democracy and wielding raw power.
If you're trying to make sense of what's happening in Hungary, you need to understand that this isn't a typical legislative spat. It's a full-blown constitutional civil war.
Operation Purgatory and the Battle for the Presidency
Péter Magyar, who pulled off a stunning landslide victory in April 2026 with his Tisza party, secured 54% of the vote and a commanding two-thirds supermajority. He didn't waste time. He launched what he openly calls "Operation Purgatory," a scorched-earth legislative campaign aimed at purging Orbán loyalists from the state apparatus.
President Tamás Sulyok, a former Constitutional Court judge appointed by the previous Fidesz-led parliament in 2024, has been labeled an "Orbán puppet" by the new administration. The core argument from Magyar is straightforward: Sulyok completely failed in his constitutional duty to act as a check on Orbán’s autocratic overreach, effectively rubber-stamping the erosion of Hungarian democracy.
To get rid of him, Magyar submitted the 17th amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law. The mechanism is brutal in its efficiency. Instead of relying on traditional impeachment paths, which are slow and legally complex, the amendment simply terminates the president’s term the day after it takes effect, citing a "serious loss of confidence" from society. The law gives parliament a tight 30-day window to select a replacement, with Magyar targeting St. Stephen’s Day on August 20 for the installation of a new head of state.
Sulyok isn't going quietly. He publicly blasted the move, arguing that a personalized constitutional amendment tailored to remove a single individual is fundamentally incompatible with the rule of law. He has dug in his heels, refused to resign, and called on the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission to intervene.
Beyond the President: A Total Rewrite of the System
If you think this is just about Sulyok, you're missing the bigger picture. The constitutional package going to a vote on Monday is sweeping. Magyar is using his supermajority to fundamentally alter how the Hungarian state functions, aiming to make it impossible for Orbán's network to maintain economic and political control.
The amendment introduces a strict 12-year or three-term age limit for members of parliament. It abolishes the independent Parliamentary Guard, which critics claimed operated like a private security force for the old guard. Perhaps most importantly, it establishes the National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office. This body is specifically designed to hunt down and claw back public funds allegedly siphoned off by what Magyar terms "Orbán's economic mafia."
Just days before targeting the presidency, Magyar’s camp passed another major constitutional amendment preventing former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from ever returning to the top office. That rule caps any prime minister’s tenure at a total of eight years. Since Orbán has already served roughly 20 years across two separate stints, he's legally barred from the premiership. The rule also applies to Magyar himself, limiting him to two terms.
Furthermore, the new administration has already taken a sledgehammer to the old state media apparatus. Last week, it suspended news broadcasts on public television and radio, which had long functioned as an aggressive propaganda wing for Fidesz, as part of an overhaul to re-establish media independence.
Is This Democratic Restoration or a New Autocracy?
This is where things get messy, and honestly, both sides are throwing heavy accusations.
Fidesz lawmakers and Orbán allies recently organized a protest outside the Sándor Palace in Budapest, drawing thousands of demonstrators. Former President János Áder didn't hold back, calling Magyar’s actions a "constitutional coup" and the start of a "cold civil war." Gergely Gulyás, a prominent Fidesz politician, claimed this marks the end of constitutional democracy and the beginning of authoritarian rule in Hungary.
There’s an obvious irony here. Orbán’s party unilaterally rewrote the Hungarian constitution 15 times during their 16 years in power to cement their own control. Watching them complain about constitutional manipulation feels rich to many observers.
But independent legal experts are genuinely torn. On one hand, Magyar has a massive democratic mandate. He ran on a platform of dismantling a captured state, and his voters expect results. On the other hand, using a supermajority to write custom laws that remove specific human beings from independent office is a tactic straight out of the populist playbook.
Magyar’s defense is simple. He asks how restoring the powers of the Constitutional Court, reinforcing judges' independence, and setting up an anti-corruption office can be considered authoritarian. For him, you can’t clean a toxic house without getting your hands dirty.
What This Means for Europe and the Frozen Billions
For the European Union and NATO, Magyar’s aggressive purges are a double-edged sword. On paper, Brussels is thrilled to see the back of Orbán, who spent years blocking aid to Ukraine, flirting with Vladimir Putin, and vetoing EU decisions. Magyar has pledged to be a trustworthy partner, align closely with Western allies, and join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to fight corruption.
The immediate financial prize for Hungary is roughly €18 billion ($21 billion) in EU funds that were frozen due to Orbán’s rule-of-law violations. If Magyar can convince Brussels that these aggressive constitutional rewrites are genuinely restoring accountability and checks and balances, that money flows back into Budapest, giving a massive boost to the Hungarian economy.
However, if Magyar’s "Operation Purgatory" ends up looking less like a democratic restoration and more like a different flavor of one-man rule, Western allies will find themselves in a very awkward position.
If you want to track where Hungary goes next, don't just look at the protests in Budapest. Watch how the new government structures the autumn constitutional reforms. The immediate next step for observers is monitoring the parliamentary vote results today and checking whether Sulyok attempts any last-ditch legal delays before the five-day signing window closes. If he refuses to sign, Magyar has already promised immediate impeachment proceedings, setting up an explosive summer in Hungarian politics.
