Prime Minister-Elect Péter Magyar of Hungary has announced that during his term in office, the Prime Minister’s work residency will not be located at the Carmelite Monastery of Buda.
This is a symbolic break from his predecessor, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, who moved his office to the Monastery in January 2019. Magyar was entrenched in Fidesz-aligned business circles, and was married to Former Minister of Justice Judit Varga of the Orbán administration, so distancing himself from PM Orbán is what may be behind the move by Magyar.
Prior to 2019, the Prime Minister’s office used to be located in the Budapest Parliament Building, the most iconic landmark of the Hungarian capital. Lajos Batthyány, the first person in Hungarian history to hold the title of Prime Minister, had his cabinet set up in the Buda Castle, where the Carmelite Monastery is also located.
According to PM-elect Magyar’s announcement, his administration will be headquartered in ‘a ministerial building near the Parliament’. The exact location is yet to be specified.
The presidential residence, however, is set to remain the Sándor Palace as it has been since 2003. PM-elect Magyar visited President of the Republic of Hungary Tamás Sulyok there on Wednesday, 15 April.
Due to the Sándor Palace’s proximity to the Carmelite Monastery of Buda, Magyar was able to see his predecessor PM Orbán reading his newspaper on his balcony. The moment was captured on camera and shared on Magyar’s social media. The footage showed the Prime Minister-elect reacting by mimicking the famous ‘Absolute Cinema’ meme featuring American filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
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