Ferenc Gyurcsany, Hungary's former prime minister and longtime figurehead of the Democratic Coalition (DK), is stepping down from all political roles and retreating from public life, marking the end of a polarising two-decade career that shaped Hungarian politics.

Gyurcsany's resignation as DK party leader, parliamentary group head and MP was announced by his wife, Klara Dobrev, MEP. In the same Facebook post, she revealed the couple's decision to divorce after "months of torment and planning." "We are not afraid of change. We are changing, and opening a new chapter," she wrote.

In explaining the move, Dobrev cited the desire to break the cycle of "dishonest gyurcsanyozas", a term denoting the right's long-running fixation on demonising the ex-premier. "The right's politics of character assassination must end. This decision serves that purpose," she wrote.

The DK will now be led on an interim basis by executive vice-president Csaba Molnar until new leadership is elected.

Gyurcsany, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2009, has been both a mainstay of Hungary's opposition and the favourite political scapegoat of the ruling Fidesz party.

Initially viewed as a reformer with a technocratic bent, copying Tony Blair's Third Way, his premiership was irreparably damaged by the leaking of his speech at a closed faction meeting after the 2006 election victory. In it, he admitted to "screwing up" and having "lied morning, noon and night" about the state of the economy to win the election. These remarks became infamous and are used in political discourse to date.

The fallout sparked mass protests and sealed the fate of his government, led by MSZP and its junior coalition partner, liberal SZDSZ. The leaked speech became a foundational myth for Viktor Orban's sweeping victory in 2010, followed by three more supermajority victories.

Fidesz successfully used his remarks as weapons against him, depicting the leader of the left as the symbol of moral decay.

Pollster Median's poll in March showed that Gyurcsany was the least popular politician.

Parties and analysts reacted swiftly to the announcement. Peter Magyar, the rising opposition challenger and leader of the Tisza Party, alleged that Fidesz had orchestrated the resignation to divert attention from a damaging leaked recording released earlier the same day. "It's no coincidence the blue Fidesz leader resigns precisely when another government scandal breaks," Magyar wrote, calling it symbolic of the "Gyurcsany-Orban era" coming to a close.

Just after 9 am, the 43-year-old party leader released a 70-second audio recording featuring Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, which he claimed exposed the government's hypocrisy regarding its peace policy. In the recording from April 2023, Szalay-Bobrovniczky discusses transitioning the Hungarian military from a "peace mentality" to "phase zero" of war preparedness, emphasising the need for a combat-ready army amid regional tension.

Before its release, he dubbed the audio as the "Oszod moment" of the ruling nationalist party.

"Now we've learned that while the Orban government talks about protecting Hungarians, they're the ones willing to sacrifice citizens' safety for money and power. This isn't just a political failure; it's a crime," he wrote.

He claimed that the cabinet's long-standing narrative of peace was a deliberate deception.

The government downplayed the recording, labelling it as standard defence policy talk, with officials insisting that military preparedness is not incompatible with a commitment to peace.

Defence Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky defended the statements, asserting that "peace requires strength," and stressed the importance of military preparedness in ensuring national security. Gergely Gulyas, head of the Prime Minister's Office, echoed the same argument, saying that it is standard for a defence minister to advocate for a capable military, especially given the current geopolitical climate.

As for the resignation of Gyurcsany, Fidesz in a short statement said the move "changes nothing", as DK under Klara Dobrev remains aligned with Brussels and Ukraine just like the Tisza Party.

Former editor-in-chief of major independent news portals and now analyst Szabolcs Dull called Gyurcsany's move full capitulation and not a tactical retreat.

There's no indication that he intends to pull the strings from behind the scenes, or continue to guide Klara Dobrev as the two have announced their separation. While some DK loyalists may feel sorrow, many within the party could see this as a new chapter in the party's bid to rebrand itself. For voters, the key question is whether they still associate Dobrev too closely with her former husband or see her as a fresh start, he added.

According to Dull, the withdrawal of the former PM from public life marks a symbolic and political victory for Viktor Orban. Hungary's nationalist conservative leader does not have good memories from the heated pre-election debate with Gyurcsany in 2006, the last time a sitting prime minister and opposition leader faced off directly. Analysts widely agree that Orban, the young opposition challenger, was soundly defeated in that exchange.

On the other hand, Hungary's veteran leader is losing an opponent who helped him rally and unify his voter base and win successful elections. The fearmongering tactic may lose some potency, but analysts agree that Klara Dobrev will likely continue to be portrayed by Fidesz and its media as its ideological heir.

For Peter Magyar this is a partial victory, Dull writes, adding that the aspiring leader of Tisza Party has built his rise on promising to remove both Orban and Gyurcsany from politics. With one of those goals now achieved, this could open the way for a new left-wing formation, one that could attract some undecided voters, wary of Magyar's rightist rhetoric, to the left.

Imre Komjathi, president of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), has called for a renewal of the left.

Political analyst Gabor Torok described Gyurcsany's decision as largely symbolic but historically significant, as it closes a 20-year chapter in which the former prime minister and Orban came to embody Hungary's bitter political divide. Gyurcsany was not only one of the most controversial politicians of the post-communist era, but also a central and dependable antagonist for Fidesz between 2010 and 2024, he added.

In his farewell letter, the former PM and party leader called on members to support the new leadership and to remain loyal to the party.

"This is a painful farewell. I have spent 25 years in Hungarian domestic politics. I have seen the highs and the lows. I know what it feels like to be the prime minister of the country, I know what it feels like to defeat Viktor Orban, and I also know what it means for the country when the right governs Hungary as a one-party state," he wrote.

Gyurcsany began his career in communist youth organisation KISZ in 1981 and after the regime change he became a successful businessman in the 1990s. He entered politics in 2002, after the election victory of the Socialist Party.  He became prime minister in 2004 after the resignation of Peter Medgyessy from the post. His five-year tenure was marked by controversial reforms plans and he is still blamed for mismanaging Hungary's economy, making the 2008-2009 financial crisis more severe than in other CEE peers.  In 2011, he founded the Democratic Coalition (DK). 

The leftist-liberal party achieved its highest recorded support in October 2022, reaching 20% among decided voters, but now it is polling near 5%, just around the parliamentary threshold, with less than 11 months before the elections.