The Hungarian President said today that the new political majority cannot become “owner of the state” and that Justice cannot be used as a “political weapon”, warning that there should be no room for revenge.
© Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP via Getty Images
24/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ Din a long period of my life I worked as a judge in Hungary and the European Court of Human Rights, this work taught me a simple lesson: the law must apply even to those in power,” András Baka said during his speech in the general debate of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, focusing on the country’s internal policy.
Baka, elected by the Head of State Parliament on 11 August, left a series of warnings to the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who won the April legislative elections against former ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“There must be accountability for corruption and abuse of power, but there can be no revenge. Justice cannot be a political weapon”, he defended.
“A democratic state cannot correct past mistakes by repeating them with new people governing,” continued Baka.
The converger Magyar, since he was elected, has sought to break with the policies of the former executive and had as main electoral flag the fight against corruption.
“ In April, the Hungarian people voted for a democratic renewal, expected more than a change of government, expected a change of public life, a rule of law, a state that serves more than it controls, courts that decide without pressure, press that challenges the power and public money that is used for the public ", said Baka.
The Hungarian President left another warning: “The state belongs to those who support the government, those who are against and those who have lost hope in politics: the new political majority cannot become the new owner of the state.”.
“There must be accountability for corruption and abuse of power, but there can be no revenge. Justice cannot be a political weapon”, he continued, adding that “a democratic state cannot correct past mistakes by repeating them with new people governing”.
Baka also argued that a republic begins when “power respects its limits”.
“ This is the republic that must now be rebuilt. The trust of our partners will not return due to an election or due to a speech,” he continued.
Since Magyar won Orbán in April's legislation, has engaged in dismantling the system created by the nationalist leader to control the country's institutions in his favor, notably through the adoption of an anti-corruption law and the launch of a reform of the public media.
Orbán had been Prime Minister for 16 years.
Baka also devoted a few words to the conflict in Ukraine, a country that “is struggling to preserve its independence”, making an analogy with the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 against the regime imposed by the Soviet Union, a popular revolt that resulted in more than 2,000 deaths and the departure of hundreds of thousands of people from the country.
“ The freedom that the Hungarians demanded in 1956 is what we must support today for Ukraine (...) Lasting peace is about respect for Ukraine's sovereignty. If the conquest of a territory by force is eventually accepted as a way to settle a dispute, even the smallest country would have reason to worry about its future,” he warned.
“Hungary repudiates Russia’s war of aggression. Ukraine has the right to (...) decide on its own destiny”, he continued.
The President's position confirms a departure from the position of the former government of Orbán, considered close to Moscow.
Former president of the Hungarian Supreme Court and former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, Baka was elected head of state by parliament with the support of the absolute majority of the conservative and Europeanist party Tisza, led by Magyar, to succeed Tamas Sulyok, deposed in July.
With the election of Baka, 73 years old, the Magyar Government fulfilled in part the election promise to replace the high positions linked to Orbán, to which the new Prime Minister classified as “spontoches of the regime”.
Considered one of the largest Hungarian experts in European law and fundamental freedoms, Baka defended Community values by saying that “the place of Hungary is in Europe, as a natural consequence of its culture and values”, something reiterated today in his speech at the UN.
The election of Baka took on a special symbolic value, as the jurist was removed in 2011 from the presidency of the Supreme Court, a position he occupied since 2009, by the Government of Orbán, after openly criticizing the reforms that limited the independence of the judiciary.