Today is a remarkable day, as 9 May marks the end of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 16-year-long reign. The Tisza Party has taken over the government, and Péter Magyar has been elected as the new Prime Minister, which will be followed by a public celebration marking the change of regime at the Parliament Building.
Magyar’s speech on Kossuth Square is aimed towards the people
Péter Magyar started his speech with greeting everyone in a new, free, and democratic Hungary. He continued by saying that today is not a simple inauguration day, but the end of the long journey he, the party, and their supporters went through. Magyar also compared the power of the 16-year-long propaganda and the power of the people, and he is very thankful for the people who stood up against it.
He is also aware of the fact that there are many people in the country who are going through this period with an abundance of negative emotions, and he urged the people to always look after each other, because in order to rebuild the country, as he likes to phrase it, they will need everybody.
Hungarian flag raised on Kossuth Square
The Hungarian flag was raised on Kossuth Square, accompanied by a guard of honour, after Péter Magyar gave permission for the flag to be raised. The National Anthem was played.
Magyar government takes over the Hungarian government’s Facebook page
““Homeland is not a privilege. Homeland is a shared home.” The new parliament has been formed, and Péter Magyar is officially the Prime Minister of Hungary!
The committee hearings of the ministerial candidates will take place in the coming days, and the new government of Hungary is expected to be formed by the middle of next week.
Thank you, Hungary! ❤️🤍💚”
The new Magyar government has taken over the official Facebook page of the Hungarian government:
Hussars awaited Magyar, who left the parliament with his 3 sons
Péter Magyar stepped out of the Parliament building with his three sons. Hussars waiter for the new Prime Minister on Kossuth Square. The honor guard saluted the new PM, as the Hungarian National Defence Band played music.
Former defence minister deletes official Facebook page
Former Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky is saying goodbye to his official Facebook page, Telex noticed:
Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Péter Magyar
Congratulations to @magyarpeterMP on becoming Prime Minister of Hungary.
This Europe Day, our hearts are in Budapest.
The hope and promise of renewal is a powerful signal in these challenging times.
We have important work ahead of us.
For Hungary and for Europe, we are…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 9, 2026
The new Parliament has officially been formed
After the members singing the National Anthem, the inaugural session of the new parliament ended. Newly elected Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer asked the deputies to salute the historical flags, and then closed the inaugural session. The next session of the National Assembly of Hungary will take place next Tuesday, on 12 May.
EU funds, PM mandate limits, “brick by brick”
A two-thirds majority in the Hungarian Parliament is a great responsibility. As they claim, there has been too many times in Hungarian history that a political community has confused victory with moral integrity. Tisza will soon review Hungary’s constitutional system to fix the issues with concentrating too much power. They vow to restore true institutional independence, and limit the terms of the prime minister.
Magyar asked his peers to think of this memory when they make their decisions to remember where they started from, where we went, for whom they undertook this.
Péter Magyar also said every entrepreneur must respect the environment and the safety of the local community, reflecting to the scandals around battery plants in Hungary. “In the new Hungary, public money will once again be public money, public assets will once again be national assets.” He said Hungary’s place is in Europe, so they will act accordingly, restore the federal relations, and with this, bring home the European Union’s funds.
Magyar apologised to the victims of the government
After facing up and doing justice, reconciliation can come, said Magyar in his speech. “It is difficult to ask for this without victims with open and bleeding wounds. Forgiveness is not forgetting. True reconciliation will not come from unhealed wounds. It is not possible to open a new era if we are not able to face the people who have been abandoned, humiliated, and abandoned.”
As the Prime Minister of Hungary, he formally apologizes to the victims of Bicske children’s home, the victims of Szőlő Street Correctional Institute, and all victims of the Hungarian child protection system. He told that they are not alone, that Hungary will not turn its back on them anymore. He apologizes to all those who have experienced in recent decades that the state does not protect and respect its citizens equally.
Read the most important points of the new prime minister’s first speech here: Péter Magyar becomes Prime Minister: “I will serve, not rule” as he issues apology to victims, critics in historic speech
Magyar told President Sulyok to leave his position immediately, face-to-face
Magyar said that in recent years, dozens of public institutions have lost their independence, and that the members of the previous government have ruined the checks and balances of the parliamentary system, leaving the nation alone in trouble. He also ordered the culprits to have the courage to face their actions. He told them to “resign today, but no later than May 31. Let Tamás Sulyok start the line.”
Péter Magyar called it ironic that Sulyok, who spoke here today about the rule of law, as he says, for the first time in two years. He claims Sulyok should have intervened when “Orbán called half the country an insect to be exterminated.”
He mentioned many more examples where the president, who, by their role, should unify the people, should have said something, such as when civilians were harassed by authorities, or children’s lives have been ruined for ever. “After so much cowardice, neglect, and lies, it is impossible to embody the unity of this nation, it is time to leave with our heads held high while we still can.” At the end of Magyar’s speech, Sulyok lightly nodded once.
Magyar’s first speech as PM: We were pillaged, betrayed, and deceived
New Prime Minister Péter Magyar started his first speech strongly: 22 years after joining the EU, Hungary has become a scorched earth. It was plundered, betrayed, led astray. The Hungarian people will not do themselves the favor of not confronting each other.
He highlighted the reality of the country by saying that Tisza Party “inherited a country where 3 million people live in poverty. The outgoing government managed to close 90 percent of the budget deficit in 3 months. The fallen government tried to steal everything that could be moved, even in the last moments.”
He also noted that there is no new beginning without justice, claiming the people have sided of change with unprecedented strength. “The path that the Hungarian people have taken in the past two years is unprecedented, I thank them. The Hungarian people have given us the authority to end the drift, to open a new chapter, not just to change the government and the system.”
Péter Magyar is officially Prime Minister
Péter Magyar has been elected Prime Minister with 140 in favour, 54 votes against, with 1 abstention. Right after, Magyar took the oath of office.
Ágnes Forsthoffer: We are going to start a new era of Hungarian democracy
The newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly says that “today opens a historic opportunity for the Hungarian people, changes are coming, with which we will begin a new era in the history of Hungarian parliamentary democracy.” This opportunity comes with 156 newcomers from the three parties, with 141 new members from Tisza alone.
The Parliament House should not be the home of the parties, but again the home of the Hungarian nation, the house of Hungary. Not a center of power, but a sanctuary of the will of the nation; this house will again be the house of modesty and humility, of service and the will to act.
Péter Magyar to take the oath soon, Kossuth Square getting crowded
By lunchtime, the open sections of Kossuth Square are already full, as the oath of Péter Magyar brought a huge number of people, and people are still arriving from the regional Tisza activist groups. In the crowd, there are a lot of banners, saying “Thank you”, or even “Absolute Cinema” in Hungarian, the phrase Magyar used when he first met President Sulyok after the elections, and saw Viktor Orbán at the balcony of the Karmelita Monastery reading a newspaper.
Mayor of Budapest: We have been a country of 10 million abused and mistreated people
Gergely Karácsony, the capital’s mayor also spoke at the so-called regime closing ceremony. “The way we treat one another is our homeland.” He is hoping that people will be able to change this sentiment in their lives. He said the people must say no to the building blocks on which Viktor Orbán’s government has built its strategy, which is hatred and violence.
For 16 years, we lived in a country where ten million people were mistreated. Lives, livelihoods, and social relationships were lost because of this.
He added that there is no excuse and no forgiveness, and that healing is based on conscious remembrance. He then expressed his gratitude at length to everyone, including the independent press. “Public memory is short,” so we must remember everyone who stood up against the regime, Telex reports.
He said we should cherish the people who voiced their opinion, and also the students, teachers, the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE), the Central European University (CEU), the organizers of Pride, and the “Roma condemned to clean toilets.” He emphasized that this system also has its martyrs, including, for example, András Váradi.
Ambassadors at the inauguration event
Prominent Fidesz members did not rejoin for the inauguration process – UPDATE
Former transport minister János Lázár, Máté Kocsis the former leader of Fidesz’s parliamentary group, and former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó are also absent from the inauguration of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ágnes Forsthoffer.
UPDATE: Lázár, Kocsis, and Szijjártó have already left Parliament. Earlier, Parliament has been voting on various parliamentary appointments, with voting yes on all personnel proposals, but this did not amount to 199 votes. Typically, the candidates received 193–195 votes in favor; there were a few representatives who abstained from.
According to Telex, Péter Szijjártó and János Lázár, as well as Máté Kocsis, the former faction leader, and another member have now left the inaugural session. The photos taken at the beginning of the session clearly tell the atmosphere at Fidesz changed a lot in the previous months.
The flag of the European Union returns to the Parliament building after 12 years
Ágnes Forsthoffer started her duty with ordering the returnal of the European Union flag to the Parliament building after 12 years. Neither Fidesz, KDNP, nor Mi Hazánk applauded the announcement of the EU flag’s return, which is not surprising, considering the fact that Fidesz ordered its removal back in the day. Opposing this, Forsthoffer said that this flag is a symbol of what Hungarians said yes to 22 years ago, it is a symbolic sign that “we will once again be respected members of the European Union.”
Ágnes Forsthoffer has been officially elected Speaker of the National Assembly
Ágnes Forsthoffer has been elected Speaker of the National Assembly, István Vitányi announced in Parliament. Forsthoffer is one of Tisza Party’s vice-presidents. In the April 12 parliamentary election, she won with 57.29 percent of the vote in the Balatonfüred constituency (No. 2) in Veszprém County.
Previously, László Kövér has held the position of Speaker of the National Assembly since 2010. Following Katalin Szili of the MSZP, Forsthoffer will be the second female Speaker of the House in the post-1990 era.
Before entering politics, she served as the Balaton regional director for the Hungarian Association of Hotels and Restaurants. She wasn’t among the first experts to join the party, she was introduced as the Tisza Party’s new tourism expert at the picnic in Kötcse last fall, after she resigned from her previous position.
“193 members voted in favor, two voted against, and there were no abstentions,” announced István Vitányi, the senior member of the House. The politician from the Tisza Party, which won the election, was the sole candidate for the position of Speaker of the House. Following her election, Ágnes Forsthoffer took the oath of office before Parliament.
Incoming Minister of the Interior: we have to make sure Pride will be legal
Gábor Pósfai, the incoming Minister of the Interior said they must ensure that Pride is held legally. “The modification of the law on assembly is currently not on the agenda, but we must make it possible to hold Pride within a legal framework,” said in response to Telex’s question.
Moreover, he said the handover process will reveal what the most important steps are within the Ministry of the Interior’s purview. When asked about the corporate taxes (TAO), he said that transparency is the most important thing. In addition, within the new government, sports will also fall under this ministry.
Péter Magyar promises a real regime change
Today marks the first official day of the regime change, as Hungary’s new National Assembly is formed and a new prime minister is elected. Péter Magyar spoke about this on Saturday in Kossuth Square, before the parliamentary group of the Tisza Party laid wreaths at the statues of former Prime Minister Count Gyula Andrássy and the poet Attila József.
The inaugural session can be followed live on large screens set up in Kossuth Square, where many people had already gathered well before the 10 AM start. In a live broadcast, Péter Magyar said that several pieces of legislation would be adopted during the inaugural session, the new deputy speakers of the National Assembly would be elected, and then, from 4 PM, “we will celebrate here together”.
Viktor Orbán did not attend Parliament
In a move unprecedented since the transition to democracy, Viktor Orbán, as the outgoing prime minister, did not attend the inaugural session of parliament, 444.hu writes.
When he first left the government in 2002, Orbán attended the formation of the new parliament: he even congratulated the members of the new National Assembly, and wished the members of the new government strength and wisdom.
Gergely Gulyás: Fidesz-KDNP will act as a normal opposition
Fidesz-KDNP will act as a normal opposition in the new parliamentary cycle; they will support all good proposals, but they will hold Tisza accountable for his campaign promises, Gergely Gulyás, Fidesz’s parliamentary group leader, stated on Facebook ahead of the National Assembly’s inaugural session on Saturday.
In his morning post, the Fidesz faction leader wrote: the Fidesz-KDNP faction is invested in the country’s success, so they will act as a normal opposition, which he believes will be “novel and unusual” in Hungarian public life.
Gergely Gulyás promised: they will support every good government proposal, but they will hold the Tisza Party accountable for keeping the election promises it made during the campaign.
He stated that they consider it of paramount importance that the next government preserve the achievements made—family support, home ownership, low taxes, public safety, border protection, utility cost protection, the stability of pensions, and the introduction of the 14th-month pension.
Soon-to-be minister Kapitány: our targets are the EU funds, and stopping corruption
Stopping corruption and securing EU funds will be the most important task, István Kapitány, the incoming Minister of Economy and Energy, told reporters. Speaking to reporters during a break in the parliament’s inaugural session on Saturday, the politician stated that there had been no real competition in many areas, and that corruption had reached a level “unprecedented in Europe.”
He also noted that a level playing field had completely disappeared in Hungary, with a select few receiving massive contracts, which is why the Hungarian economy has not developed. The investment strategy that supported assembly plants has led to Hungarian companies currently accounting for just five percent of exports, he pointed out, adding that Hungarian companies must be put in a position to compete.
The incoming minister stated: they do not yet know the state of the budget, but “it is clear that we are not optimistic.” István Kapitány expects that, following the change in government, cases similar to the National Cultural Fund (NKA) financing issue will arise. He added that they will review the contracts and, if they do not meet legal requirements, they will take the necessary steps.
Fidesz MP’s are not very satisfied with the situation
Fidesz still has 44 representatives in the Parliament, but their mood has significantly changed compared to the last few years. Former Transportation and Infrastructure Minister János Lázár told 444 that if he could have decided, he would not be there today, but the decision about his mandate wasn’t his. But, according to him, it is only temporary, as he only took the position for just one year.
President Tamás Sulyok called upon Péter Magyar to be Prime Minister
Sulyok, whom Péter Magyar had earlier called upon to resign, congratulated Tisza, saying “we have been a nation of state-builders for a thousand years.”
“We have reached a new chapter in Hungarian history,” he said. “Tisza Party achieved an unprecedented victory with unprecedented participation; I congratulate them. The Tisza Party bears a historic responsibility, and it has also been given an opportunity.”
Sulyok proposes constructive cooperation, as respect for the law cannot be in question, according to the President of the Republic. All political action is democratic as long as it remains within the framework of the rule of law. Legal certainty is a value to be preserved.
Serving the homeland and the nation is the greatest honor, the noblest task; they have been ranked alongside the nation-builders of a thousand years. History will judge their actions. He proposes constructive cooperation in all matters; this is what you witnessed during the inaugural session, and for that, everyone deserves thanks.
The President of the Republic offered his heartfelt congratulations to the elected representatives and the ethnic minority spokespersons. At the end of his speech, the President makes the nomination for the Prime Minister, he said, and therefore asked Péter Magyar, who accepted the task.
The new National Assembly is officially formed
The National Assembly was formally established on Saturday with the ceremonial swearing-in of the members of parliament elected in April. With the formation of the new parliament, the mandate of the Fidesz-KDNP government led by Viktor Orbán, which took office in 2022, has come to an end.
The members of parliament took their oaths in front of the historic flags. Members representing ethnic minorities took their oaths in their respective minority languages: Lovari, Beás, Romanian, and Croatian.
During the preceding verification of credentials, the letters of appointment were found to be in order, so the parliament unanimously confirmed the mandates of the members of parliament and the minority spokespersons with 193 votes in favor. The registrars read aloud the names of the confirmed members of parliament and the minority spokespersons.
In the 199-member National Assembly, the Tisza Party has 141 representatives, Fidesz has 44, the KDNP has eight, and Mi Hazánk has six.
What will happen today?
As 444 writes, the inaugural session of the new Parliament began at 10 AM, and will be opened by President Tamás Sulyok. Soon, at around 11, Parliament members will take their oaths, and after can the new National Assembly will be officially formed.
If the required four-fifths majority is achieved, starting at 2 PM, members of Parliament may vote without debate on the election of parliamentary committee officers and members, the new ministerial structure, and the elevation of emergency regulations to the level of law. Péter Magyar is to be elected prime minister around 3 PM, who then will first address Parliament, then head to Kossuth Square around 4 PM, where he is also expected to deliver a speech.
Follow our live article through the inauguration event for the latest information.
Featured image: New Prime Minister Péter Magyar. Photo: MTI
Now Hungarians can see what an absolute coward Viktor Orban is. He is the first exiting Hungarian PM not to give a speech in Parliament during the inauguration of the new PM and he is the first exiting Hungarian PM not even to be present for the inauguration. None of the ministers that lost their seats apprear to be present for the ceremony. This is the picture of thieves who like cockroaches cannot bear the light of day. COWARD ORBAN CANNOT FACE HIS ACCUSER IN PUBLIC WHO NOW DESCRIBES HIS CRIMES IN FRONT OF THE CAMERAS BROADCASTING TO THE NATION.
Concur – Larry.
They, from Orban down – must be HUNTED down.
What, over (20) twenty years – the (2) two times in POWER under the Prime Ministership of the “ill fated” – Victor Mihaly. Orban and his “heinous” government, the acts of theft, the pillage and stealing – removal of assets of individual Hungarians and of Hungary – orderly, calmly, methodical – in DEEP application built on – FACT’s the overwhelming evidence of FACT’s – to bring the ACCUSED before courts and “other” institutions to answer for there CRIMES.
Assets stolen – individual assets of Hungarians and Assets of Hungary – the PARTICIPANT’s – must be EXPOSED and stood before – if applicable and possible – the people of Hungary who they have been responsible for under the name ALL approved by Victor Mihaly. Orban – being OUTED humiliated out of office, out of Government, out of POWER – and leaving (3) three million Hungarians living in POVERTY.
Mihaly Varga – the former Minister of Finance, a founding Father of Fidesz, a “blood brother” of Victor Mihaly. Orban – a DUD – of a Finance Minister leaving the economic and financial postion of Hungary, resembling a cataclysmic DISASTER – being 2 plus years passed – moved from his Finance Ministers role by Victor Mihaly. Orban to the Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary with a “whisper” in the ear – you Mihaly Varga will be the next President of Hungary – Mihaly Varga, his contacts, his HISTORY in the Fidesz Political Party being a “founding” Father with Orban being very “inner sanctum” with the Oligarchy = Varga excessively to HIGH Risk – to remain as the Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary.
Move him out and ON.
The first thing they should do is to stop the Ex-Viktator and his accomplices from leaving the country. Then all their corruption should be investigated.