Power shift in Hungary

Polgár declines offer to become Hungary's president

Chess legend Judit Polgár has declined Prime Minister Péter Magyar's offer to become Hungary's next president, AFP reports.

"I do not feel that I have the strength to shoulder the historic responsibility of uniting a divided nation," Polgár wrote on social media.

Péter Magyar stated last week that he wanted to see Judit Polgár as Hungary's next president because she is a person the country can be proud of, writes the Guardian.

Chess champion could become Hungary's new president

Chess star Judit Polgár is being proposed as Hungary's president, AFP reports. Prime Minister Péter Magyar has proposed her for the post and writes in a post on Facebook that he will meet Polgár to formally raise the issue. Polgar has won five Olympic gold medals and is considered the greatest female chess player of all time.

“Our country needs unity, peace and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of,” he writes in the post.

Last week, the Hungarian parliament voted to pass a constitutional amendment that gave President Tamás Sulyok five days to resign. This weekend, the Orbán-loyal president signed his resignation.

The change of power in Hungary – it’s about the matter

• Péter Magyar and his Tisza party won a landslide victory in Hungary’s elections on April 12, gaining a supermajority with 138 out of 199 seats in parliament.
• Viktor Orbán conceded defeat after 16 years in power when his Fidesz party won 52 seats.
• Magyar has called for the president’s resignation and put forward a proposal to limit the prime minister’s term to eight years.
• Magyars' government has, among other things, changed the tone of the previously Fidesz-loyal media reporting and lifted bans on Ukrainian media.