Peter Magyar takes oath as Hungary’s PM, ends Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule

Hungary’s pro-European centre-right leader Peter Magyar was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Saturday, almost a month after a landslide victory in parliamentary elections that ended Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power. Magyar’s center-right Tisza party defeated Orbán’s nationalist-populist Fidesz in a stunning blow, gaining more votes and seats in Parliament than any other party in Hungary’s post-Communist history.

Magyar, 45, who leads the centre-right Tisza party, swept the polls on promises of change after years of economic stagnation under Orban and strained ties with the European Union. His party has a huge parliamentary majority, winning 141 of the 199 seats.

New PM Peter Magyar faces several key challenges

Magyar invited Hungarians to “step through the gate of regime change”.

However, he faces several key challenges, including restoring Budapest’s relations with the EU, reviving the economy, and tackling a budget deficit that reached almost three-quarters of its full-year target by April.

The swearing-in ceremony was held inside Hungary’s neo-Gothic parliament building, and the EU flag, removed under Orban, was displayed inside the chamber for the first time in 12 years.

The newly appointed speaker, Agnes Forsthoffer, in her first decision, ordered the flag’s reinstatement, while Magyar aims to strike a deal with the EU that would unlock around $20 billion in frozen funding. The money was withheld over concerns about worsening human rights under Orban and a decline in the rule of law.

Hungary drifted away from the EU during Orban’s tenure

Hungary drifted away from the EU during Orban’s tenure and deepened ties with Moscow as he used his veto in the European Council to oppose sanctions on Russia and block support for Ukraine.

Magyar was largely unknown until early 2024, when he got embroiled in a public dispute with Orban’s ruling Fidesz party, of which he had previously been a prominent member.

After he was sworn in, Magyar said Hungarians had given his party a mandate to launch a “new chapter” in the country’s history. “A mandate not only to change the government but to change the system as well. To start again.” Under Orban, Hungary had become the most corrupt country in the EU, he said.

He reiterated his earlier calls for Orban-era appointees to resign, asking them to do so by the end of the month. The first should be Tamás Sulyok, he said, in a reference to the president.

Pledges to build a more inclusive Hungary

Magyar pledged to build a more inclusive Hungary, one that would be more free, humane, and hopeful than under Orban’s nationalist movement.

“Hungary will be home for every Hungarian, and everyone can feel like they have a place in the Hungarian nation. Family, friends, and communities will be able to speak to each other again.”

Magyar burst into public view in early 2024, after he turned on the party, laying bare the inner workings of a system he described as rotten and accusing officials of expanding their power and wealth at the expense of ordinary Hungarians.