Getting rid of the Orban-appointed president was a big victory for Hungary’s new government, but the rushed attempt to nominate chess legend Judit Polgar as his successor is its first major blunder.

Judit Polgár says she does not ‘feel enough strength within me’ to take on the responsibility of uniting a divided nation

The Hungarian chess ⁠legend Judit Polgár has said she will not accept the nomination for president, only a day after the ⁠prime minister, Péter Magyar, ⁠said he ​would ask her to take up the largely ceremonial role.

Magyar had said he would meet Polgár on Monday to discuss the matter. “Our country needs unity, peace and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of,” he wrote on social media. “Judit Polgár’s name has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades.”

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© Photograph: Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images

Premier Magyar will die Schach-Olympiasiegerin Judit Polgár zum Staatsoberhaupt machen. Den bisherigen Präsidenten hat er per Verfassungsänderung und mit einer Drohung aus dem Amt gedrängt.

Tamás Sulyok, ein politischer Freund des abgewählten Rechtspopulisten Orbán, macht den Weg für Verfassungsänderungen frei. Premier Magyar will nun tiefgreifende Reformen durchsetzen.

Elsewhere, Russia’s FSB links alleged Moscow drone plot to Slovakia; leader of Czech coalition party Motorists under fire after Prague car crash; Poland not among founding members of new European coalition to develop ballistic missile defence.

Tamas Sulyok now faces a stark choice: either he signs his own dismissal within five days or faces impeachment.

Wie überlebensfähig sind Europas Demokratien unter dem Druck autokratischer Weltmächte? Pulitzer-Preisträgerin Anne Applebaum über Trumps Emotionen, Putins Wahnhaftigkeit und die Stärke der Europäer.

Elsewhere, Slovakia's referendum fails over low turnout, Hungary heads for a presidential showdown, and Czechia’s double delegation to the NATO summit sparks controversy.

Ungarns Ministerpräsident Peter Magyar hat die staatlichen Fernseh- und Rundfunksender angewiesen, Nachrichtensendungen vorläufig einzustellen. Die Chefredaktionen sollen neu aufgestellt werden.

Péter Magyar hails ‘end of propaganda broadcasts’ as Kossuth radio and M1 TV channels suspend transmission

Hungarian public media outlets close to Viktor Orbán have suspended broadcasting, the country’s prime minister said as he hailed efforts to dismantle the longtime nationalist leader’s control over information.

Péter Magyar, who ousted Orbán in a landslide election victory in April, wrote on Facebook: “A historic day. Today marks the end of propaganda broadcasts on public media platforms. They lied at night, they lied during the day, they lied on every wavelength. That is now over.”

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© Photograph: Márton Mónus/Reuters

© Photograph: Márton Mónus/Reuters

© Photograph: Márton Mónus/Reuters

Haben die Ungarn wirklich die Populisten besiegt? Márton Gergely, Chefredakteur des unabhängigen Magazins HVG, über die Widersprüche Péter Magyars und sein Fremdeln damit, dass ein Teil der Gesellschaft jetzt so heiter jubelt.

MCC Brussels received lavish funding from Budapest, but Hungary’s new PM is launching an investigation

Under glittering chandeliers in a neoclassical ballroom, guests took their seats. It was 10am and scores of people had gathered at a private members’ club in Brussels for a conference to mark 250 years of American independence, organised by Viktor Orbán’s favourite thinktank in the EU capital, MCC Brussels.

Opening the one-day event, the MCC director, Frank Furedi, said the 250th anniversary had “really escaped the attention of a European audience” in a speech that lauded the founding fathers before launching a sweeping attack on Europe’s “incompetent political class”.

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© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin

Das liberale Budapest wurde lange von Orbán drangsaliert. Besonders stark war der ultrakonservative Druck auf die LGBTQ-Community. Jetzt schöpfen viele Hoffnung. Doch auch mit der neuen Regierung könnte es Konflikte geben.

Peter Magyar’s Tisza party campaigned on a promise to take Hungary into the eurozone, but delivering on that promise would entail blood, sweat and tears – and likely an accompanying loss of popularity.

Das Parlament in Budapest beschließt: Wer mehr als acht Jahre regiert hat, darf kein Ministerpräsident mehr werden. Das gilt für den Langzeit-Premier Orbán, aber auch für seinen Nachfolger Magyar.

The draft law seeks to bring back journalistic independence, editorial freedom, unhindered access to reliable information and a space for open public discourse.

Ungarns Regierungschef Magyar will Staatspräsident Sulyok aus dem Amt jagen, weil dieser den antidemokratischen Kurs seines Vorgängers geduldet habe. Der Machtkampf ist eröffnet.

New PM Péter Magyar calls policy a sign of ‘social justice’ after years of political loyalty being rewarded with economic opportunity

In a dimly lit television studio, one of Hungary’s richest men is on the verge of tears. It is early May, weeks after the general election that ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, and the advertising mogul Gyula Balásy has an announcement to make.

Balásy tells the interviewer that he has just surrendered his businesses to the state, along with a chunk of his private savings. He has even brought along a notarised deed – a legal document setting out the change of ownership.

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© Photograph: János Kummer/Getty Images

© Photograph: János Kummer/Getty Images

© Photograph: János Kummer/Getty Images