Chess grandmaster Judit Polgár announced she will not accept the presidency of Hungary, a day after Prime Minister Péter Magyar said he would offer her the role. In a Facebook post, Polgár said she is grateful but lacks the strength to unite a polarized country.
Judit Polgár, the Hungarian-Jewish chess grandmaster, announced Monday evening that she will not accept the nomination for the presidency of Hungary, just one day after Prime Minister Péter Magyar said he would ask her to take the role. The decision was announced via a Facebook post, in which Polgár expressed gratitude for the offer but said she does not feel she has the strength to bear the 'historical responsibility of uniting a divided nation.'
The announcement is a setback for Prime Minister Magyar, who had made Polgár his candidate for the presidency. Earlier on Monday, The Zioneer reported that the ruling party had unanimously selected Polgár as its candidate. The presidency has been vacant since the impeachment of Tamás Sulyok, which was approved by parliament on July 14. Polgár's refusal leaves the government without a candidate and raises questions about the next steps in the process.
3 developments
- StrongHungarian PM says he will meet Judit Polgár tomorrow, offer presidency
- DevelopingHungarian PM Magyar pushes constitutional amendment to impeach President Sulyok
- DevelopingHungary's parliament impeaches President Sulyok; Orbán: 'democracy is dead'
- StrongHungary coalition to limit parliament terms to 12 years, cap top court justices at 70 — aimed at ousting court president, report says
Source and signal
- Internal intake