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

Hungary's MPs block return of Orbán, limiting rule of PM to eight years6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePaul KirbyEurope digital editorNurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe changes to the constitution would also mean Péter Magyar not being allowed to govern beyond 2034The 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 Getty ImagesBalázs Orbán clashed in parliament with Hungary's prime minister over the government's reformsAlthough 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 o...