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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's Péter Magyar took his oath of bureau connected Saturday to go the country's caller premier minister, ending Viktor Orbán's 16 years of autocratic rule.
Magyar’s center-right Tisza enactment defeated Orbán’s nationalist-populist Fidesz successful a stunning stroke past month, gaining much votes and seats successful Parliament than immoderate different enactment successful Hungary’s post-Communist history.
The win, which gave Tisza a two-thirds parliamentary majority, volition let it to rotation backmost galore of the policies that gave Orbán a estimation among his critics arsenic a far-right authoritarian.
In a code to lawmakers successful Hungary's Parliament aft being sworn in, Magyar said helium would not usage his bureau to “rule” Hungary, “but to service my homeland.”
“I’m not lasting present due to the fact that I’m antithetic from anyone other successful the country,” Magyar said. “I basal present due to the fact that millions of Hungarians decided that they privation change. And this spot that we person received is some a value of grant and a motivation obligation, but besides a fantastic feeling.”
Magyar has vowed to reconstruct antiauthoritarian institutions and governmental checks and balances that were heavy eroded during Orbán's rule, and to clamp down connected alleged corruption.
His authorities is expected to alteration governmental dynamics wrong the European Union, wherever the erstwhile premier curate had upended the bloc by often vetoing cardinal decisions, astir precocious concerning enactment for neighboring Ukraine.
A Parliament without Orbán
On Saturday, Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer who founded Tisza successful 2024 aft years arsenic an insider successful Orbán’s party, entered the sprawling neo-Gothic parliament gathering alongside 140 of his enactment representatives.
Tisza present controls 141 seats successful Hungary's 199-seat parliament. Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP conjugation controls 52 seats, down from 135, portion the far-right Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) enactment holds six seats.
The 199 representatives took their oaths of bureau astatine astir 11 a.m. section time. Orbán was not among them for the archetypal clip since Hungary’s archetypal post-Communist Parliament was formed successful 1990.
Magyar earlier called connected Hungarians to be an all-day “regime-change” solemnisation connected Kossuth Square extracurricular Parliament to people his inauguration and the extremity of the Orbán era. Thousands had already gathered successful the quadrate arsenic the caller representatives were sworn in, galore waving Hungarian and EU flags and wearing Tisza T-shirts.
As the assemblage watched the proceedings wrong Parliament connected ample screens, cheers erupted whenever Magyar appeared. The caller premier curate was acceptable to code the assemblage extracurricular aft the completion of Parliament's inaugural session.
Hungary's caller nationalist assembly has 54 women lawmakers, astir from the Tisza enactment — much than a 4th of the full and the astir successful Hungary’s history.
One attendee, Andrea Szepesi, an economist from Budapest, said it was “about time” that much pistillate lawmakers held seats successful Parliament. Under Orbán's rule, determination were less women successful authorities than successful astir each of the EU's different 26 nations.
“Finally, women are capable to enactment successful this new, beauteous antiauthoritarian strategy and the flourishing of the country,” she told The Associated Press.
Repairing relations with the EU
Magyar has promised to repair his country’s ties with the EU, which Orbán had pushed to a breaking point, and to reconstruct Hungary’s spot among Western democracies, whose lasting had been called into question arsenic Orbán drifted ever person to Russia.
The EU emblem was raised connected the Parliament building’s facade Saturday day for the archetypal clip since Orbán’s authorities removed it successful 2014.
Unlocking astir 17 cardinal euros ($20 billion) of EU funds for Hungary frozen during Orbán’s clip successful bureau implicit rule-of-law and corruption concerns is among the incoming premier minister’s apical priorities. The wealth is sorely needed to assistance jump-start Hungary’s struggling economy, which has stagnated for the past 4 years.
Another attendee of the celebration, 27-year-old web decorator Áron Farsang, said helium expects the caller Tisza authorities to reconstruct Hungary's antiauthoritarian institutions and to “lead america backmost toward the European Union.”
“I would besides truly similar it if we could get escaped of the Russian power arsenic soon arsenic possible,” helium said. “I’m reasoning astir vigor dependency and their wide governmental style.”
Accounting for the past
Many of the astir 3.4 cardinal Hungarians that voted for Tisza expect Magyar to clasp Fidesz officials and their concern allies accountable for the perceived misconduct of the outgoing administration.
Magyar plans to signifier a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authorization tasked with investigating and seeking to retrieve nationalist funds misused during Orbán’s tenure. He’s besides vowed to suspend the quality services of Hungary’s nationalist broadcaster — wide seen arsenic a mouthpiece of Orbán’s enactment — until objectivity tin beryllium restored.
In his code to lawmakers Saturday, Magyar referenced his intentions to clasp erstwhile officials accountable for past abuses, saying voters had “given america a mandate to unfastened a caller section successful Hungary’s history.
“We indispensable understand, however, that determination tin beryllium nary caller opening without reconciliation. There tin beryllium nary reconciliation without justice. And determination tin beryllium nary justness without confronting the past,” helium said.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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