Why Did Viktor Orban Give Up His Mandate? Is This a Retreat or the Beginning of a Long-Term Rebuilding?

This decision demonstrates Viktor Orban’s statesmanlike greatness: he does not cling to a formal position, but serves the long-term interests of the nation, said Zoltan Lomnici Jr. in response to the outgoing prime minister’s announcement that he will return his mandate and focus on reorganizing the national side.

Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko

The constitutional lawyer indicated that the decision makes it possible to fundamentally reshape the parliamentary group under the leadership of Gergely Gulyas, bring in new generations, without forcing Viktor Orban into the daily routine of opposition politics. This is in fact a strategic repositioning: instead of parliamentary opposition, it focuses on the intellectual, organizational, and cultural reconstruction of the national community.

Similarly, great conservative leaders have recognized that after losing power, real strength lies in parallel structures and in reestablishing hegemony, not in daily battles within the parliamentary chamber,

emphasized Zoltan Lomnici.

Renewal must come from bottom up

Viktor Orban’s message in terms of state theory is clear: "a political era has come to an end," and "complete renewal is necessary." This applies not only to Fidesz, but to the entire national side. In this constellation, the party remains a central force, but the national side becomes a broader, bottom-up network capable of resisting the pressure of global liberalism and adapting to new challenges, the constitutional lawyer pointed out.

In his view, in terms of state theory this is the right-wing version of Gramsci’s "war of position": the re-creation of not only parliamentary, but also cultural, intellectual and organizational hegemony. As Viktor Orban has said before, renewal must not be directed from the top down, but built from the bottom up, with new movements emerging, new faces appearing, a generational shift taking place, while the core, such as national sovereignty or the family, remains intact, he added.

This decision demonstrates Viktor Orban’s statesmanlike greatness: he does not cling to formal positions, but serves the long-term interests of the nation,

he highlighted. He pointed out that in the spirit of the Hungarian constitutional order and national conservatism, this does not mean prolonging the sense of defeat, but preparing for the return of Fidesz, building a new, stronger national side. This kind of leadership responsibility is rare in today's Europe, and this is precisely why Viktor Orban can remain a defining figure of the Hungarian right, he added.

Cover photo: Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko)