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Magyar sworn in
Péter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary’s new prime minister on Saturday, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule after Hungary lawmakers formally elected Magyar as PM and Orbán skipped the ceremony.
“Péter Magyar, a pro-EU conservative, was sworn in as Hungary's new prime minister on Saturday”
Magyar, 45, leads the centre-right Tisza party and was propelled into office on promises of change, with the Tisza party winning 141 of the 199 seats in the new parliament.
In the neo-Gothic parliament building in Budapest, the EU flag was displayed inside the chamber for the first time in 12 years after the newly appointed parliamentary speaker, Agnes Forsthoffer, ordered its reinstatement.
Magyar told lawmakers, “I will not rule over Hungary; I will serve my country,” as tens of thousands of supporters watched the ceremony on giant screens and waved Hungarian and EU flags.
The European Union welcomed the transition, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying on X that Magyar’s premiership held “the hope and promise of renewal in these challenging times.”
EU reset and hurdles
Magyar invited Hungarians to “step through the gate of regime change” as he sought to restore Budapest’s relations with the EU, revive the economy, and tackle a budget deficit that reached almost three-quarters of its full-year target by April.
The European Council President António Costa told reporters in Brussels that “It is a new chapter in Hungarian history and we are ready to work with the new Hungarian government.”
Al Jazeera said Magyar aims to strike a deal with the EU that would unlock around $20bn in frozen funding, withheld over concerns about worsening human rights and a decline in the rule of law.
POLITICO.eu reported Magyar has vowed a reset with Brussels to secure around €10 billion in EU funds frozen as a result of backsliding over human rights and the rule of law, and said the Hungarian government flew to Brussels for talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week.
Al Jazeera also quoted a professor of European politics at the University of Surrey, Theofanis Exadaktylos, saying “uprooting the previous establishment will be a challenge.”
What’s at stake next
Hungary’s new leadership faces immediate deadlines and compliance pressures tied to EU funds, with Al Jazeera saying Magyar’s reset effort targets unlocking around $20bn in frozen funding and POLITICO.eu adding that the administration is scrambling to meet an August deadline to show progress on reforms.
“on the ruins of the previous one”
BBC reported that Tisza holds 141 seats out of 199 in the new parliament and that Magyar promised a “change of system” as well as a change of government, while also saying the main priority is to set up the government “on the ruins of the previous one.”
The Guardian said Magyar vowed to seek justice against those who were trying to “steal everything,” and it quoted his call for Orbán-era appointees to resign by the end of the month, starting with Tamás Sulyok.
In Brussels, the European Council President António Costa framed the moment as a “new chapter,” while RFI reported Magyar pledged one of his first steps would be to create an independent office to investigate corruption over the past 20 years and recover public assets.
For Hungary’s political transition, the sources also tied the EU flag’s return to the broader shift, with Al Jazeera saying the EU flag was removed under Orban and displayed inside the chamber for the first time in 12 years.
