Hungary’s new government has ordered the removal of the National Creed, the constitutional preamble introduced under Viktor Orbán, from public institutions, triggering a fierce political backlash and prompting a symbolic response from the former prime minister.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, 11 June, that the National Creed (Nemzeti Hitvallás) would no longer be displayed in schools, government offices, and other public institutions. The text, which forms the preamble to Hungary’s Fundamental Law, had been required to be displayed in public buildings since 2021.
In a satirical Facebook post, Magyar said that anyone who ‘wants a real historical artefact’ for their grandchildren could ‘take one off the wall at any government office starting today’. ‘Hurry, because they’ll be gone before you know it,’ the prime minister concluded.
The decision marks one of several symbolic efforts by the Tisza government to dismantle the political legacy of Viktor Orbán and the 16-year rule of Fidesz–KDNP. The National Creed, however, remains part of the Fundamental Law despite the decision.
The National Creed, adopted alongside the Fundamental Law in 2011, contains references to Hungary’s Christian heritage, the state-building role of Saint Stephen, the importance of family and nation, and the country’s historical continuity. Supporters regard it as a declaration of Hungary’s constitutional identity and civilizational foundations.
The move immediately sparked criticism from Fidesz, which accused the government of attacking the constitutional values embodied in the Fundamental Law. Opposition politicians argued that the National Creed serves as an important guide for interpreting the constitution and reflects the historical and cultural traditions of the Hungarian state.
Former prime minister Viktor Orbán responded on Thursday with a highly symbolic gesture. In a video published on social media, Orbán personally nailed a copy of the National Creed to a wall at Fidesz headquarters in Budapest.
‘Let Tisza take it down from here,’ Orbán wrote alongside the video. ‘We are proud of every line of the National Creed. God bless the Hungarians.’
The dispute comes amid a broader confrontation between the new government and institutions established during the Orbán era. Since taking office in May, Magyar has repeatedly pledged to dismantle what he describes as the former ‘system’ and has called for the resignation of several senior office-holders appointed under previous parliamentary supermajorities, including President Tamás Sulyok.
Earlier in May, Prime Minister Magyar also symbolically removed the security cordon surrounding Orbán’s former office in Budapest’s Castle District, opening the area to public access. Framing the move as a symbol of a new political era, Magyar declared that ‘there is no place for cordons in Hungary after the regime change’. The gesture echoed Orbán’s own dismantling of the security barriers around Parliament during the anti-government protests of 2007, when Fidesz argued that such measures separated the political elite from ordinary citizens.
Below is the full English translation of Hungary’s National Creed:
God bless the Hungarians.
WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE HUNGARIAN NATION, at the beginning of the new millennium, with a sense of responsibility for every Hungarian, hereby proclaim the following:
We are proud that our king Saint Stephen built the Hungarian State on solid ground and made our country a part of Christian Europe one thousand years ago.
We are proud of our forebears who fought for the survival, freedom and independence of our country.
We are proud of the outstanding intellectual achievements of the Hungarian people.
We are proud that our people have over the centuries defended Europe in a series of struggles and enriched Europe’s common values with their talent and diligence.
We recognize the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood. We value the various religious traditions of our country.
We promise to preserve the intellectual and spiritual unity of our nation torn apart in the storms of the last century.
We hold that the nationalities and ethnic groups living in Hungary form part of the Hungarian political community and are constituent parts of the State.
We commit ourselves to promoting and safeguarding our heritage, our unique language, Hungarian culture, the languages and cultures of nationalities living in Hungary, and all man-made and natural assets of the Carpathian Basin.
We bear responsibility for our descendants and therefore shall protect the living conditions of future generations by making prudent use of our material, intellectual and natural resources.
We believe that our national culture is a rich contribution to the diversity of European unity.
We respect the freedom and culture of other peoples and shall strive to cooperate with every nation of the world.
We hold that human existence is based on human dignity.
We hold that individual freedom can only be complete in cooperation with others.
We hold that the family and the nation constitute the principal framework of our coexistence, and that our fundamental cohesive values are fidelity, faith and love.
We hold that the strength of community and the honour of each person are based on labour, an achievement of the human mind.
We hold that we have a general duty to help the vulnerable and the poor.
We hold that the common goal of citizens and the State is to achieve the highest possible measure of well-being, safety, order, justice and liberty.
We hold that our democracy can only flourish where the State serves its citizens and administers their affairs in an equitable manner, without abuse or partiality.
We honour the achievements of our historical constitution and we honour the Holy Crown, which embodies the constitutional continuity of Hungary’s statehood and the unity of the nation.
We do not recognize the suspension of our historical constitution due to foreign occupations.
We deny any statute of limitations for the inhuman crimes committed against the Hungarian nation and its citizens under the national socialist and communist dictatorships.
We do not recognise the communist constitution of 1949, because it was the basis for tyrannical rule; therefore we proclaim it invalid.
We agree with the Members of the first free Parliament, who declared as their first decision after the beginning of democracy that our current liberty emerged from our 1956 Revolution.
We hold that after the moral defeats of the twentieth century our need for spiritual and intellectual renewal is overwhelming.
We trust in a jointly-shaped future and the commitment of younger generations. We believe that our children and grandchildren will make Hungary great again with their talent, persistence and moral strength.
Our Fundamental Law shall be the basis of our legal order: it shall be an alliance among Hungarians past, present and future. It is a living framework which expresses the nation’s will and the form in which we want to live.
We, the citizens of Hungary, are ready to found the order of our country upon the common endeavours of the nation.
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