Péter Magyar held an international press briefing this afternoon, setting out his vision, his government’s initial steps, and fielding questions from journalists. He pledged that everyone would have their say. He addressed Hungary’s new foreign policy, lessons from the campaign, his government’s first moves, the prospect of an even greater victory for Tisza, his stance towards Putin and the Russian people, and the introduction of the euro. He signalled that the constitution would be amended to limit prime ministers to a maximum of two terms, barring Viktor Orbán from serving again.
According to Magyar, Tisza could ultimately secure 141 or 142 seats once votes from those who registered to vote away from their residence and from overseas missions are tallied (they currently stand at 138). He attributes Fidesz’s current 55 MPs solely to their deployment of media and intelligence services to cling to power.
As Tisza’s victorious leader, he called on Tamás Sulyok to convene the new parliament’s inaugural session by 4 or 5 May. He reiterated his request for Sulyok to resign once asked to form a government.
What are the Tisza government’s three most urgent policy packages?
- Constitutional reform: Prime ministers limited to two terms, or eight years, meaning Orbán is disqualified;
- restoration of pluralistic democracy and checks and balances;
- creation of an asset recovery office;
- Hungary joins the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Continuous engagement with the people
Politics, Magyar insists, must be about people. Foreign politicians have asked him for the secret; he says it is simply to spend as much time as possible among them, though that demands sacrifices. Politics can be noble, honest, and just, he added.
He vowed maximum public involvement—via referendums or online surveys—but not like Fidesz’s national consultations.
Foreign policy shifts
In Magyar’s view, Hungarians yesterday made a clear choice: we belong in the EU and NATO. The European Union is a peace project, and a resounding success at that. As a former diplomat, he has come to understand its workings—and its bureaucratic excesses—vowing to address the latter.
He promised unyielding advocacy for Hungarian interests in Strasbourg, Brussels, Washington, Moscow, and Beijing. He said he could soon meet with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. The new government will be a constructive partner in Europe, resolving disputes through compromise. Europe, he argues, has lost ground amid social woes and the Ukraine war’s toll; he aims to forge a common voice and resolve the “Kissinger problem” at last. He also pledged to end the practice of blocking candidate states for domestic political reasons.
Magyar disclosed that, per his information, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and close colleagues are shredding sanctions-related documents at the foreign ministry, with similar activity in other state bodies.
The next 30 days will be critical, he warned, as vast troves of background agreements, contracts, and international commitments remain unknown. Those not harming Hungarian interests will be published.
If you missed it - Who will Péter Magyar sack first as Hungary’s new premier? The first hit list already revealed
Budget, nationwide tour, new cabinet
The budget requires immediate amendment due to the first quarter’s massive deficit, Magyar said. He will resume his nationwide tour immediately after the handover.
He revealed no further cabinet names but indicated that super-ministries will be dismantled—yielding standalone education and finance ministries, for instance.
Energy and public administration
According to Magyar, Hungary’s civil service boasts excellent professionals who have hitherto been stifled for political reasons. They can now dust off their expertise and work freely.
He signalled that Mihály Varga could remain at the helm of the central bank provided he sticks to his remit.
In Magyar’s view, Hungary must diversify its energy procurement to secure lower prices—while over-reliance on a single source remains perilous.
Ukraine’s EU accession and International Criminal Court
Péter Magyar declared that Hungary will join the International Criminal Court, but deems Ukraine’s EU membership acceptable only after it meets all conditions and following a referendum.
He noted that the €90 billion loan package for Kyiv was agreed long ago; he has no intention of scuppering it, though Hungary will sit out the disbursements.
Russia: security risk
The Tisza Party leader stated that he is determined to negotiate with Ukraine’s leadership over the plight of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia and the securing of their rights.
He would also draw in Romania, alongside the leaders of other neighbouring states, to collaborate in a format akin to the Visegrád Group.
Russia poses a security risk, he emphasised—not the Russian people, but their leaders.
Migration
Péter Magyar said that the European leaders had played the good Samaritans during the 2015 illegal migration crisis. Meanwhile, they disregarded the expectations of their own citizens. His approach, he added, would enable continued action against illegal migration without the burden of €1 million daily fines.
Euro introduction and public media
No firm timeline yet, however; the Tisza government must first assess the true state of the budget before setting a target date for meeting the Maastricht criteria.
He added that the programme of the public media would be suspended until they could ensure its objectivity with the other three parliamentary parties.
Péter Magyar open to collaboration with Chinese firms
All investments are welcome in Hungary, provided everyone adheres to the regulations, Péter Magyar has said in response to questions over the future of projects by companies such as BYD and CATL according to Portfólió. The prospective prime minister signalled that excessive state subsidies will not be tolerated, particularly if these firms flout environmental standards or endanger the health of those living nearby or within the factories. He indicated that, alongside major multinational investments, efforts will be made to bolster the position of Hungary’s small and medium-sized enterprises.
If you missed it - Who is the new premier of Hungary? Péter Magyar’s profile
And this is supposed to be “democracy”? You are free to vote for whomever you want, so long as it’s a pre-approved option. But Orban was the “dictator” and the “autocrat.”
Then this: “His approach, he added, would enable continued action against illegal migration without the burden of €1 million daily fines.” Um, yeah. The only way he’s going to avoid the fine is to acquiesce to the Migration Diktat that Brussels has been trying to force on Hungary for years. Why doesn’t he say that loud and clear? We all know why.
Oh, Magyarok, what have you done!!!
The Hungarian Nationalist leader, Toroczkai László warned, at the end of election day, that he thought Magyar Péter would attempt to dismantle Hungarian Democracy.
László also warne, Dear Michael, that if Magyar attempted to do this László and his party would ‘resist it fiercely’.
It is going to be interesting to watch Hungary over the next few years.
I have to wonder if they will wind back up in a period very similar to what they went through in 1919-1921?
Stupid Steiner and idiot Mouton!
Go piss and sleep, we dont want to hear your idiot noise after 12th of April 🤣🤣🤣
‘New Constitution: Orbán can never again become premier.’
Will that pass by the president of Hungary or the high court?
With a two-thirds majority Peter Magyar can re-write the constitution to change the presidency and the high court. Fidesz’s hold on both will be swept aside. Magyar will do exactly the same with his super majority as Orban did but this time to kick Fidesz out of the institutions of power. It’s over.
‘Magyar will do exactly the same with his super majority as Orban did.’
That, dear Larry, is exactly what a small town Hungarian said, in the Summer of 2024, about Magyar, when asked by a famous Leftist Hungarian journalist how he evaluated Magyar’s then burgeoning candidacy.
That will serve the interests of Toroczkai László, he reminding everyone, on ATV Magyarország’s ‘Egyenes Beszéd’, that he has constantly asserted that Magyar Péter has nothing in his personality that is ‘democratic’, that dearth most recently demonstrated by Magyar’s assertion that the new constitution ought bar Orbán Viktor from office.
Peter Szijjarto has been missing since the election results came out. It was finally discovered that he has been busy shredding documents since election night. All that brotherly love with Lavrov needs to be kept from view.
So what does this mean for Fidesz going forward? With 50+ seats in Parliament and 2.5 million votes collected, you’d think it seems like a solid foundation with a view to the future, right? They can dust themselves down, reshuffle, reboot and mount a challenge in 4 years time?
Somehow this seems extremely unlikely and I’m willing to nail my colours to the mast and state that Fidesz will perform significantly worse in the next election and will go the way of MSZP as an erstwhile governing party that ended up on the scrapheap of history, fighting to even cross the 5% threshold to enter Parliament.
I’m confident that Tisza will enact a constitutional modification that limits a Prime Minister to two terms in office, this is a showpiece item of legislation and it’ll be retroactive. With no chance that Orban can ever become PM again and anything less than sitting in the hot seat providing insufficient motivation for his continued involvement in politics he’ll step away from the limelight. That is, of course, if he can even realistically remain in Hungary depending on the outcome of future investigations and the quantity of skeletons that’ll fall out of the cupboard over the next couple of years which will be numerous in number. The leaked phone calls with Putin reflected badly on him but I’m fairly confident that ‘we ain’t see nothing yet’.
With Orban retired and/or in exile, Fidesz will be listless. It became the Orban party and was the singular vision of one man. Having departed there will be a power vacuum at the top with much infighting as his potential successors jockey for position. Against a backdrop of a Tisza government investigation into potential wrongdoing, one can anticipate much backstabbing, people become turncoats divulging sensitive information in their possession with a view to sinking competitors and/or saving their own skin and so on. This unedifying spectacle will reflect poorly on them and 3.5 years from now (at a point where they need to have regrouped and present a solid, united front), they’re unlikely to be in an electable condition or to have spent much if any time designing a manifesto having been tied up with infighting and battling the authorities. The loss of access to state coffers will hugely deplete their financial resources, state media will no longer be at their disposal and the wealth of the newly minted oligarchs they gave rise to will be spent on Ferraris, apartments in Monaco and ‘fine art’, the last thing they’ll want to do is fund a failed political project with no real chance of seeing a return on their investment. That’s if their sizeable wealth isn’t seized, but I imagine much of it will be sequestered abroad if it hasn’t been already.
M1 will be relaunched as a balanced news provider that won’t shy away from reporting on all the court cases, infighting and backstabbing. As yet unknown information about their past conduct that may (and probably will) come to light will be reported, reflecting very poorly on them.
Fidesz will set out their stall at the next election but devoid of Orban’s demagogue ways, mired in scandal, a successor government for whom blaming their predecessors for Hungary’s ills will be exceedingly easy, a lack of state funds or communication channels as well as demographics that are working against them with the passage of time (their older voters are passing on and largely zero under 40s were joining the movement to replace them), we may even find that they don’t pass the 5% threshold at the next election.
The Tisza party are unequivocally the new national conservatives offering a brand of friendly, approachable, inclusive, joyous patriotism. It’s youthful, stylish and has obviously made a huge impact on the Hungarian electorate as the results amply evidence. Mi Hazank will remain the ‘far right’ radical option so that squeezes Fidesz into a position of homelessness; what can they offer than either Tisza or Mi Hazank cannot? They’re finished.
A lot of this assumes of course that Tisza is competent and effective in government, but even if they’re not, Fidesz has lost its leading light, become politically homeless, will struggle for sufficient funding, will have a fraction of the channels available to amplify their message, their voters are getting ever older and Tisza, if they’ve done a half decent job, stand every chance of being re-elected by default, not with a 2/3 majority but with a respectable margin. I envisage a left of centre movement appearing that presents an alternative to Tisza and won’t suffer from the suffocation that Fidesz meted out to all and any opponents. It’ll serve as a natural home for those voters that cast a vote for Tisza under duress while seeking Orban’s removal at all costs.
@Londonsteve…
I agree with you that Fidesz probably does not see itself as finished, but, rather, will reorganize, lay low, and wait for an opportunity.
Whether or not that opportunity ever comes depends on Magyar.
Magyar, as I understand it, said this to the Hungarian Voter : ‘Orbánism is correct, but, Orbán is not the right person to lead it. ‘Give it to me, I will rid it of corruption, reduce confrontationalism with Bruxelles, and it will function like it is supposed to.
Maybe half of the Hungarians, who voted for Magyar, agreed with this.
The other half did not agree, but, were going to vote for Magyar, anyway, simply because they not only disagree with Orbánism, they would rather be shot than see Orbán continue another day in office.
Excellent analysis; I have reached many of the same conclusions. Looking foward to seeing how things play out, and to the “new” Hungary reaching its potential.
“The lunatics are running the asylum”
I believe that one way flights on Wizz Air are quite affordable. Quick, escape while it’s still a MAGA Disneyland, there’s only a few weeks left before the baton of power is handed over and fuel becomes 1,000 Ft. per litre, kindergarten kids have to undergo mandatory sex change surgery even as an expat you get your call-up papers to travel to the Ukrainian front line.