The time ahead will be one of liberal governance and a national opposition, Orbán says in letter to Fidesz members

“With this election, the 16-year era of national governance has come to an end. A new era—the era of liberal governance—is about to begin in our country. The duty of our community now is to defend the great national achievements of the past 16 years and to keep the ideal of national governance alive. Liberal governance and a national opposition : this is the new arrangement. This is the arena in which we will have to do our work,”

– Viktor Orbán wrote in a letter to Fidesz members, which was obtained by Telex. The outgoing prime minister thanked everyone for their work during the campaign and outlined the political directions. He also wrote that the parliamentary faction had been reorganized in line with the fact that there will be a “liberal government and a national opposition,” and he also mentioned the Tuesday meeting of Fidesz’s Executive Board. “I have resigned my position as party president before the National Executive Board. I will continue to perform my duties as president until the party congress, and the future will be decided by the congress,” Orbán wrote.

As we previously reported, the first meeting of Fidesz's Executive Board since the April 12 election was held on Tuesday. After the meeting, Tamás Deutsch told Telex that they had discussed everything they had planned to, and described the meeting as “a very lively discussion”; adding that they will continue the discussion at the party congress on June 13, and will until then be holding talks at the local level.

According to Deutsch, Viktor Orbán said that if he has the confidence of the party, he will continue as Fidesz's chairman, but this will be decided at the congress. The politician added that Fidesz had prepared a brief assessment, which they would send to the press in writing. MP Erik Bánki said that Viktor Orbán had offered to resign from the presidency, but no personnel-related decisions had been made. All decisions will be made by the congress.

Unusually for himself, Viktor Orbán also stopped to speak to the press before the meeting, and said that he had not yet thought about how he would make a living. He expected their meeting to focus on a thorough analysis, and said that within a few minutes it would become clear whether he would remain the chairman of Fidesz.

Viktor Orbán announced on Saturday that he would not be taking up his seat in the new Parliament. Fidesz's 44-member parliamentary group was formed on Monday and will be led by Gergely Gulyás, who will have seven deputies.