Peter Magyar vows swift end to Orban’s rule as pressure mounts to secure EU funding

Hungarian law mandates that the inaugural session of the new parliament, responsible for electing a new prime minister, must convene no later than 12 May.

Following a private consultation with the president, Tamas Sulyok, on Wednesday, Mr Magyar told reporters outside the presidential palace in Budapest that Mr Sulyok had assured him that Mr Magyar would be his nominee as the next prime minister, and that the inaugural session would likely be scheduled for 6 or 7 May.

“(The president) thinks, and I think everyone thinks, that it’s in the interests of the Hungarian nation that after such an overwhelming mandate from the voters, a change in government and a change of regime should happen as quickly as possible,” Mr Magyar said.

Mr Magyar has vowed to conduct a major overhaul of much of Hungary’s governmental structure, and to create separate ministries for health, environmental protection and education that did not exist under Mr Orban.

In his first appearance on Hungary’s public broadcaster for nearly two years on Wednesday morning, Mr Magyar said his new government would suspend the service’s news programming, which has functioned for years as a mouthpiece for Mr Orban’s Fidesz party, until “conditions are established that are independent, objective, and impartial”.

“One of the key elements of our programme is that this factory of lies will come to an end once the Tisza government is formed,” he told the host.

Mr Magyar has called on Mr Orban’s government to act as a caretaker in its final weeks, and not to make any decisions that could threaten Hungary’s interests or impede the incoming government’s work.

He said he had asked the president, who was elected by Mr Orban’s majority in parliament, to resign after the formation of the new government, something Mr Sulyok said he would “consider”.

“I repeated to him that he is unworthy of embodying the unity of the Hungarian nation, and unfit to be the guardian of the law,” Mr Magyar said, adding that if Mr Sulyok does not resign, his new government will make constitutional changes to remove him “along with all the other puppets that the Orban system has installed”.

Because Tisza secured a supermajority of two-thirds of seats in parliament, the new government will have the power to change the constitution and roll back many of Mr Orban’s policies.

Magyar discusses EU conditions ahead of August deadline

Mr Magyar outlined four key areas where his cabinet could move swiftly to avoid the loss of some 10 billion euros of EU pandemic recovery funding by an end-August deadline.

These were anti-corruption measures, such as joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, restoring and strengthening the independence of the judiciary and ⁠investigative authorities, as well as restoring media and academic freedoms.

“As ​they say ⁠in Brussels, full stop,” Mr Magyar said, referring to a conversation he had with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, adding that they had agreed to start informal consultations before the government was formed.

“I explained it clearly to her as well, and we have made it clear before, that we can only ⁠comply with conditions that are good for Hungarian people, good for Hungarian businesses and, in general, for our country.”

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Magyar aimed to narrow down ​the list of conditions ⁠ahead of a deadline he has described as “extremely tight”. A European ‌Commission spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Mr Orban has denied eroding any democratic standards and said his government had aimed to protect Hungary’s “Christian character” against liberal ideas fielded by the European Union.

Mr Magyar’s meeting with President Sulyok provided a first glimpse into what analysts and rating agencies say could be a complicated reform path despite Tisza’s ⁠sweeping election victory, with Orban loyalists in control of most key public posts for years to come.

Additional reporting by Reuters