Hungary's outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban offered to resign as leader of his right-wing Fidesz party today, but the party congress in June will decide whether to accept it, a Fidesz lawmaker told local media.
The center-right Tisa party, led by Peter Magyar, defeated Orban in the April 12 election, ending his sixteen-year rule and triggering questioning and calls for change within Fidesz.
Fidesz will vote on a new party leadership at its congress on June 13, state news agency MTI reported MP Erik Banki as saying.
Reuters writes that Orban did not address the media after today's party meeting nor did he post on his Facebook page.
After the election, Orban told the right-wing YouTube channel Patriota on April 16 that as Fidesz president he takes “full responsibility” for his party’s defeat and that the Hungarian right needs a “complete renewal.”
On Saturday, he said in a video on Facebook that he would not take over his parliamentary mandate, but would "return" it to Fidesz.
"I am not needed in parliament now, but in the reorganization of the right," said Orban, who is a close ally of US President Donald Trump and who received the support of leaders of far-right parties in Europe ahead of the election.
He also said on Saturday that the Fidesz leadership wants him to remain at the helm of the party and that he is "ready for that task" if he receives support at the June congress.
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