Magyar refuses to use Orban's residence

New Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar refused to use the previous government residence and moved his official office from Buda to Pest, on the other side of the Danube, closer to the national parliament.

"The prime minister's residence and the place for government meetings will be at: Budapest, Constitution Street, 5. Previously, this building housed the Ministry of Construction and Transport. The building is a few steps from parliament, and it is symbolic that now the prime minister's office will be on Constitution Street," Magyar wrote on Facebook.

Thus, he confirmed that he is refusing to use the official residence of his predecessor as prime minister, Viktor Orban, located in the former Carmelite monastery on the territory of Buda Castle.

The Carmelite monastery occupied it until 1784, and then - after the dissolution of this monastic order - the first permanent theater in Hungary was located there. The street on which this building stands is called Theater Street. Later it was repeatedly rebuilt, it housed various establishments, including a casino and bowling, and in the 20th century - the Institute of National Heritage, the National Dance Theater and other organizations. It began to be used as the prime minister's residence in 2019.

Magyar’s Tisza party won a convincing victory in the parliamentary elections on April 12, receiving 141 deputy mandates out of 199. On May 9, Magyar was elected prime minister, and on May 12 the new government of the country was sworn in. Orban’s Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union party, after 16 years of continuous stay in power, went into opposition.