BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's Péter Magyar took his oath of office on Saturday to become the country's new prime minister, kicking off a fresh political era after 16 years of Viktor Orbán's autocratic rule.
Magyar’s center-right Tisza party defeated Orbán’s nationalist-populist Fidesz in a stunning blow last month, gaining more votes and seats in parliament than any other party in Hungary’s post-Communist history.
The win, which gave Tisza a two-thirds parliamentary majority, will allow it to roll back many of the policies that gave Orbán a reputation among his critics as a far-right authoritarian.
In a speech to tens of thousands of supporters in a square outside the parliament building after being sworn in, the new prime minister told the crowd: “Today, every freedom-loving person in the world wants to be a little Hungarian.”
“You have taught the country and the world that it is the most ordinary, flesh-and-blood people that can defeat the most vicious tyranny,” Magyar said to roaring applause.
As Hungary's new leader, Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and governmental checks and balances that were heavily eroded during Orbán's rule, and to clamp down on alleged corruption.
His administration is expected to transform political dynamics within the European Union, where the former prime minister had upended the bloc by frequently vetoing key decisions, most recently concerning support for neighboring Ukraine.
On Saturday, Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer who founded Tisza in 2024, entered the sprawling neo-Gothic parliament building alongside 140 of his party representatives.
Tisza now controls 141 seats in Hungary's 199-seat parliament. Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition controls 52 seats, down from 135, while the far-right Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) party holds six seats.
The 199 representatives took their oaths of office at around 11 a.m. Orbán was not among them for the first time since Hungary’s first post-Communist parliament was formed in 1990.
Source: WPLG
