PM Magyar’s first 100 days: Success or failure for Hungary?

Péter Magyar’s first 100 days as Hungary’s prime minister have produced two sharply different verdicts. The Tisza government says it has already delivered more than 100 commitments and put the country on a new course, while Fidesz, now in opposition, argues that the period has been defined by broken election promises, improvisation and “Facebook government”. So what does the first 100 days actually tell us?

The milestone has particular political significance in Hungary. Magyar’s Tisza Party came to power after the April 2026 parliamentary election, ending 16 years of consecutive Fidesz-led governments. The new administration therefore inherited not only the state apparatus but expectations of a rapid and visible break with the previous era.

Péter Magyar’s first 100 days: government points to a new direction

Magyar’s central argument is that 100 days could never be enough to repair problems accumulated over a decade and a half, but were sufficient to change Hungary’s direction.

According to the Magyar government’s official assessment, more than 100 commitments have already been fulfilled. It highlights changes to the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, public media, government spending and the handling of state assets. The government has published its own assessment on its results website, inviting voters to check its pledges against what has been implemented.

One of the government’s most significant claims concerns EU funding. In May, Magyar announced an agreement with the European Commission concerning the release of EUR 16.4 billion – around HUF 6 trillion – in previously blocked European funds. Of this, EUR 4.4 billion was earmarked for cohesion programmes, with further sums intended for education, research, the electricity grid and new railway and HÉV suburban trains.

The government also points to a change in institutional practices. It allowed the special legal order used for decree-based government to expire after six years, while the former public media news operation was abolished in July and its leadership replaced. It has also established a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office as part of its anti-corruption agenda.

On public spending, the cabinet says it has tightened controls and reviewed large state investments. It claims savings of HUF 100 billion (around EUR 274 million) on the M6 motorway project and a further HUF 59 billion (EUR 162 million) on the Mohács bridge project.

Fidesz: major election promises remain unfulfilled

Fidesz offers an almost entirely opposite assessment. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the opposition parliamentary group accused Magyar of winning the election with “false promises” and said the government had spent its first 100 days blaming its predecessor rather than delivering on its commitments.

Among the measures Fidesz says remain unfulfilled are the promised doubling of family allowance, maternity support, benefits for elderly people, GYES and GYET family benefits, a 25% pay rise for social-sector workers and a reduction of VAT on healthy food to 5%.

The party also attacked the government over the end of the interest-rate cap, its approach to the previous government’s Otthon Start housing programme and household energy subsidies. It further accused Tisza of favouring multinational companies over Hungarian businesses and of failing to deliver promises concerning fuel prices and medicine VAT. These are political allegations made in the Fidesz statement, which did not provide detailed evidence for each claim.

School support illustrates the broader dispute over delivery. Magyar has highlighted a HUF 100,000 (around EUR 274) back-to-school payment as one of his government’s social measures. During the campaign, however, Tisza said the scheme would help around 700,000 disadvantaged families, while the government’s current 100-day summary refers to assistance for around 400,000 disadvantaged children and families.

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Success or failure? The answer depends on the benchmark

The two sides are measuring the same 100 days by different standards. Magyar emphasises structural change: relations with Brussels, institutional reforms, tighter spending controls and a break with several practices associated with the previous government. Fidesz focuses instead on household finances and campaign promises that voters could expect to feel directly.

That makes a simple success-or-failure verdict difficult. The first 100 days have brought clear changes in the machinery and direction of government, including a major agreement on EU funding. At the same time, several high-profile social commitments cited during the campaign have either not yet been implemented or remain politically disputed.

For Magyar, the larger test therefore begins after the symbolic 100-day mark. Whether the new direction translates into better healthcare, education, transport, economic growth and living standards will ultimately matter more than either side’s first political scorecard.

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