Hungary's MPs block return of Orbán, limiting rule of PM to eight years

17 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on Google Paul KirbyEurope digital editor NurPhoto via The changes to the constitution would also mean Péter Magyar not being allowed to govern beyond 2034 The Hungarian parliament has backed a change to the constitution that limits a prime minister's term in office to eight years, fulfilling a promise by Péter Magyar to prevent Viktor Orbán becoming prime minister again. Orbán led Hungary uninterrupted for16 years, until Magyar's Tisza party swept him from power in April's election, winning a two-thirds majority that gives it the power to amend the constitution. Under the change, no prime minister since 1990 can serve more than two terms in office, even if they are years apart. Orbán's depleted Fidesz party voted against the measure and the former prime minister, who was re-elected as its leader at the weekend, was highly critical of it. "The Orban law has just been voted through. That was the most pressing issue. If I'm needed, I'll be here," he wrote on Facebook. Orbán complained that Tisza had only been in power a month and that it should not be "dreaming of eight years" into the future. The Tisza government's so-called super-majority meant the amendment sailed through by 135 votes to 50 and the law now just needs the signature of President Tamás Sulyok to go through. Orbán's former political director, Balázs Orbán, accused Magyar of "using political power to exclude a political opponent from democratic competition". AFP via Balázs Orbán clashed in parliament with Hungary's prime minister over the government's reforms Although the amendment to Hungary's Basic Law could in theory be changed by a future government with the necessary super-majority, the new provision also means that Magyar would only be able to serve as prime minister until 2034. He took office last month with a promise to get rid of some of the highly controversial state apparatus that Fidesz put in place during its 16 years in power. For four years running, the organisation Transparency International has labelled Hungary the most corrupt country in the European Union and the EU withheld billions of euros in funds because of concerns over rule of law, corruption and democratic backsliding. Last month, the European Commission agreed to unlock €16.4bn (£14.2bn) in funding, subject to a series of reforms to combat corruption that have to go through parliament. As well as placing a limit on a prime minister's rule, Monday's amendment scrapped a requirement for an independent agency to protect Hungary's "constitutional identity".