Hungary begins a new political era on Saturday with the appointment of conservative Peter Magyar as prime minister following his party Tisza’s historic victory in April, ending Viktor Orban’s 16-year ultranationalist rule.
Peter Magyar has officially become the new prime minister of Hungary after receiving the parliament’s vote on Saturday following the legislative elections held on April 12, where he scored a decisive victory over nationalist Viktor Orban.
Tisza won the elections by a wide margin over Orban’s Fidesz party and will hold an absolute majority of over two-thirds in the new Parliament, ensuring that the new cabinet can implement its promise to dismantle the „illiberal regime,” EFE reports.
Tisza has 141 seats in Parliament, Fidesz – 52, and the far-right party Our Homeland 6.
Magyar's Promise
Peter Magyar pledged today before Hungarian parliamentarians to serve his country "with faith and love" and not to act as a monarch, according to AFP, Reuters, and MTI cited by Agerpres.
"I will not reign over Hungary, but I will serve my country. I will serve it as long as my services are useful and the nation needs it. The trust I have received is an honor and a moral obligation," said the new Hungarian prime minister.
He recalled predecessors such as Lajos Batthyany, the first head of the independent Hungarian government in 1848, Imre Nagy, the prime minister elected during the anti-communist uprising in 1956, or Jozsef Antall, who became prime minister in May 1990 after the fall of communism.
"Honesty, courage, wisdom: I will be humble enough to look at their example and learn from them," emphasized Peter Magyar. He added that "millions of people have chosen change" after 16 years of Viktor Orban's government.
The voting procedure took place in the absence of Viktor Orban, who relinquished his parliamentary mandate.
On Saturday, members of Parliament took the oath, and then the Parliament adopted laws regarding the functioning of the Assembly, including its committees and members.
As a symbolic act, the flag of the European Union, whose removal had been ordered by former Assembly President Laszlo Kover, one of the founders of Fidesz, was restored on the facade of the Parliament building.
Viktor Orban and several Fidesz leaders, who have been in Parliament since the first elections after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990, decided to resign from their parliamentary mandates.
After the official ceremony, Peter Magyar addressed his supporters in Kossuth Square, in front of the Parliament building, where the People's Regime Change Festival is taking place until midnight.
Following Magyar's inauguration as head of government, ministers will appear before parliamentary committees in the coming days, with hopes that the government consisting of 16 members, including four women, can be officially formed as early as Tuesday.
The new prime minister stated that "there is no time to waste," so he will start work as soon as possible on the profound reform of the state by restoring the separation of powers, combating corruption, rebuilding trust in institutions, and normalizing relations with the EU.