Trump favourite Orban loses, Magyar to be PM of Hungary

Budapest: Hungary’s election winner Peter Magyar called on Monday on the country's President to convene the parliament to form a new government “as quickly as possible”, in hopes he can take over from Viktor Orban as Prime Minister as early as May 5.

With an overwhelming new mandate, Magyar pledged to cooperate with other European countries, ending Orban-era obstruction of Europe-wide policies, while also representing Hungarians' wishes. At a news conference on Monday in Budapest, he promised to restore rule of law and overhaul government structures to make them more independent and able to fight corruption, and to create new ministries to address acute problems in areas like public health, environmental protection and education.

He said he opposes fast-track EU membership for Ukraine while the country is still in a war. But he suggested he wouldn’t veto a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, as Orban did, and instead wants Hungary to [opt out] of participating in the loan because of its own financial struggles. He didn’t address his eventual relations with US President Donald Trump, who supported Orban’s campaign.

Magyar said his Tisza party received “a never-before-seen mandate”, a super-majority that would allow it to embark on ambitious programme and reforms. “The Hungarian people didn’t vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change in regime,” he said.

In his campaign, Magyar pledged to end Hungary’s drift towards Russia. On Monday, Magyar thanked Moscow and Beijing for offering their congratulations and willingness to work with Hungary’s new government. “Hungarians said yesterday they will write their history, not in Moscow, not in Beijing, not in Washington,” he added.

During his long time in office, Orban ruled with the power of a two-thirds parliamentary majority, allowing him to pass a new constitution, rewrite the electoral system and reshape the judiciary. Magyar’s party secured exactly such a mandate when it won 138 of parliament’s 199 seats, giving it authority to undo much of the legislation that allowed Orban to stack the courts, manipulate the electoral system, crack down on press freedom and discriminate against the LGBTQ+.

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