Magyar to become Hungary’s ‘regime change’ PM

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Hungary's Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Pro-European conservative Peter Magyar is to be sworn in as Hungary’s Prime Minister on Saturday (May 9, 2026) as he promises “regime change” after nationalist Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power. The former government insider-turned-critic scored a landslide victory last month, pledging wide-ranging reforms to fight corruption. Mr. Magyar, 45, also wants to undo changes Mr. Orban — who fostered close ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — made to institutions to control the judiciary, media, academia and other sectors. Mr. Magyar’s Tisza party won 141 of parliament’s 199 seats in the April 12 election, a comfortable two-thirds majority enabling it to change the constitution and push through key reforms. As one of his most urgent tasks, Mr. Magyar is trying to unlock billions of euros in EU funds locked by Brussels over rule-of-law concerns. Mr. Magyar will take the oath of office during parliament’s inaugural session, opening at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT), and will be live-streamed on large screens set up around the parliamentary building. Lawmakers are expected to elect Mr. Magyar as Prime Minister in the afternoon, and he is then expected to address supporters outside parliament. Last week, Mr. Magyar met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen for talks. Hungary faces serious challenges, including a stagnating economy and falling public services, which analysts say need long-term structural reorganisation. “There is a lot of patience and goodwill toward the new government, but the expectations are through the roof and need to be met in the short-term as well,” Andrea Virag, director of strategy at the liberal Republikon Institute think tank, told AFP. Magyar has urged the president and other Orban allies to resign as part of his “regime change”. He has also called on the authorities to stop Orban’s associates from moving capital abroad. Orban said last month that he would not sit in parliament — giving up the seat he won — for the first time since the country’s democratisation in 1990. The 62-year-old, who aimed to turn the country of 9.5 million into a model of “illiberal democracy” and widely restricted rights, has said he would focus on the “reorganisation of the national camp”. On Saturday (May 9, 2026), lawmakers are set to elect hotelier Agnes Forsthoffer as parliament speaker, one of the many women Tisza has tapped for senior roles. As the new ruling party pushes to deliver a more diverse representation than Orban’s coalition, nominations also include lawyer Vilmos Katai-Nemeth as Social and Family Affairs Minister — Hungary’s first? ever a visually impaired Minister. Roma history teacher Krisztian Koszegi would become the Deputy Parliament Speaker. Saturday’s (May 9, 2026) festivities outside and inside parliament are laden with symbolism, featuring flags and music that pay tribute to Hungary’s EU membership, its sizeable Roma minority and ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries. “Magyar seeks to show that he represents a form of national unity and reconciliation after Orban’s politics of division,” Ms. Virag said. “With the festivities he also wants to show that it was not a mere change of government, but a start of a new era,” she added. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Magyar to become Hungary’s ‘regime change’ PM

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Magyar to become Hungary’s ‘regime change’ PM

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