State Secretary responsible for Human Resources Gábor Szetey, and Hungary's first gay member of government, tendered his resignation on January 28, eighteen months after he took up the position, which he then called "the best job in the world." His tasks included reforming public administration and introducing performance-based evaluation. His ideas generated criticism and tension - following the announcement, Government Commissioner Ferenc Kondorosi admitted that Szetey's public administration system "will need some corrections," while a former public servant turned to the Constitutional Court about the system on Tuesday.

Szetey told state television Monday evening that he believed the first stage of reforms in public administration, the stage to which he contributed, is complete. The next stage, implementation, is up to leaders of the given organizations.

Kondorosi told InfóRádió that during the reorganization of public administration, "too many things had happened and too fast." The government commissioner responsible for the "New Order and Freedom" program thinks that best business practices must be followed in modern public administration, but that the system remains very different, which Szetey "maybe realized too late." He added that public administration was more difficult to "get moving" than a large production plant, because it is a more complicated system. He believes the objections to the reforms introduced last year resulted from the introduction of too many changes at the same time. He also said that Szetey's system would work, but that some corrections were needed.

In addition to introducing performance objectives, the reforms have also seen around 90,000 public sector employees laid off, more than 10% of the total.

Meanwhile, a former public servant turned to the Constitution Court about the performance evaluation system introduced by Szetey in public administration, reports Hírszerző.hu. Pál Bátki, now employed as an attorney, said that the system can be used for negative discrimination and violates the constitutional principle of "equal wages for equal work." He thinks the new system requiring "obligatory distribution" functions like a class where the teacher is required to give all types of grades, even if all students perform well. "This is a rough regulation created in a hurry which does not consider the real achievements of employees. It is no surprise that its implementation has caused tension," Bátki said.