Hungary: Magyar takes over as PM
The Orbán era is over: on Saturday Péter Magyar was elected Prime Minister in the Hungarian Parliament, where his Tisza Party holds a two-thirds majority after winning the election in April: 140 MPs voted for him and 54 against. Magyar, a pro-European conservative, said Hungary was entering a new era and that the people had given him a mandate to change the system.
End history of hostilities
Political scientist Attila Tibor Nagy asks in Index whether the new prime minister will be able to bring society and politics into balance:
“In his speech on 9 May, Péter Magyar called for moral and spiritual renewal, saying: No one should be excluded from the nation, and we must treat our fellow citizens who have different political views with respect. ... Unfortunately, the history of modern Hungarian parliamentarianism has been forged by hostilities, whereas a sense of justice, mutual respect and cooperation have been – to put it mildly – available only in moderation. If Péter Magyar can change this, that would be the right path. The question is whether he actually wants to and is capable of doing so.”
The people truly stand behind the state
In a commentary on hvg, political scientist Miklós Sükösd sees Hungary at an historical turning point, poised to become a real republic:
“In 2026 the sovereignty of the people is not just a formal facade, it is functioning as a decisive, system-changing will, a matter of legal principle and the democratic conviction of millions of voters. If this shift in public opinion becomes a sustained commitment – and goes beyond ending Orbán's autocracy – then at last Hungary can achieve that which has been broadly lacking in its history: mass support for the republic, and its legitimisation through a majority.”
Time to replace the electoral system
Magyar should now pave the way for pluralism, argues Der Standard:
“The polls show that many people did not vote for him so much as against Orbán. Orbán's clientelist system is deeply entrenched and won't be easily dismantled. And Magyar's parliamentary group, which is a long list of newcomers, has yet to consolidate. In the midst of all of this, however, Magyar also needs to question the very electoral system that favours majorities – a system that first granted Orbán and now Magyar himself an enormous amount of power. ... In the long term, an electoral system in which one constitutional majority topples the next is not really in the interests of a stable and pluralistic state.”