Bloomberg: Orban Is Considering Taking Over As Hungary's President

Hungary's prime minister wants to change legislation so the president has more influence.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is considering the idea of taking over the presidency and changing legislation to give the republic's president more influence, a source familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.

He said the exploration of the issue comes amid some polls showing the Hungarian opposition with an advantage ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for next April. The opposition Tisza party admits Orban may pursue presidential reform, said an agency interlocutor familiar with the position of the party's leadership.

The day before, on December 10, the Hungarian parliament approved a bill by Orban's FIDES party that makes it more difficult to remove the president from office. While parliament could previously declare the president incapacitated by a simple majority vote, the decision now requires the scrutiny of the Constitutional Court, which can declare it illegal and reject it. Hungary's Constitutional Court is now headed by Peter Polt, an associate of Orban, Euractiv notes.

As Bloomberg writes, Orban could decide to take the presidency in any outcome of the next parliamentary elections. If his FIDES party wins, he could focus on the country's foreign policy and leave domestic policy to "reliable ally" Janos Lazar, who serves as minister of construction and transportation.

If FIDES loses and Tisza wins the presidency, Orban could undermine opposition party leader Peter Magyar's ability to restore Hungary's status as a loyal member of the European Union after years of criticizing the country's policies under Orban's leadership. However, that path could be risky if it is seen as contrary to the will of the people, emphasizes a Bloomberg interviewee familiar with the approach.

Viktor Orban is 62. He first became prime minister after FIDES won elections in 1998, when he was 35. FIDES then lost twice in parliamentary elections to the Socialist Party. In 2010, FIDES was able to form a coalition with the Christian Democratic People's Party, and Orbán returned as prime minister. He has remained Hungary's leader ever since.

Bloomberg notes that Orban said in November that after each FIDES victory, he had considered switching to a presidential system, but refused to do so. However, according to political insiders and analysts interviewed by Bloomberg, due to the low probability of a FIDES victory in the upcoming elections, he may decide otherwise.

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