BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungary’s took his oath of office on Saturday to become the country’s new prime minister, kicking off a fresh political era after 16 years of autocratic rule.
Magyar鈥檚 center-right Tisza party defeated Orb谩n鈥檚 nationalist-populist Fidesz in last month, gaining more votes and seats in parliament than any other party in Hungary鈥檚 post-Communist history.
The win, which gave Tisza a two-thirds parliamentary majority, will allow it to roll back many of the policies that gave Orb谩n a reputation among his critics as .
In a speech to tens of thousands of supporters in a square outside the parliament building after being sworn in, the new prime minister told the crowd: 鈥淭oday, every freedom-loving person in the world would like to be Hungarian a little.鈥�
鈥淵ou have taught the country and the world that it is the most ordinary, flesh-and-blood people that can defeat the most vicious tyranny,鈥� Magyar said to roaring applause.
As Hungary’s new leader, Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and governmental checks and balances that were heavily eroded during Orb谩n’s rule, and to clamp down .
His administration is expected to transform political dynamics within the European Union, where the former prime minister had upended the bloc by frequently vetoing key decisions, most recently concerning support for neighboring Ukraine.
A parliament without Orb谩n
On Saturday, Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer who founded Tisza in 2024, entered the sprawling neo-Gothic parliament building alongside 140 of his party representatives.
Tisza now controls 141 seats in Hungary’s 199-seat parliament. Orb谩n鈥檚 Fidesz-KDNP coalition controls 52 seats, down from 135, while the far-right Mi Haz谩nk (Our Homeland) party holds six seats.
The 199 representatives took their oaths of office at around 11 a.m. Orb谩n was not among them for the first time since Hungary鈥檚 first post-Communist parliament was formed in 1990.
Magyar earlier an all-day 鈥渞egime-change鈥� celebration on Kossuth Square outside parliament to mark his inauguration and the end of the Orb谩n era. Many of those gathered waved Hungarian and EU flags and wore Tisza T-shirts.
In his speech, Magyar delivered a message of unity, and promised to help heal the deep social divisions he said Orb谩n’s government had sown.
鈥淭oday is the fulfillment of the long journey that we have made together in recent years, the fulfillment of the common belief that Hungary is able to get back on its feet, is able to believe in itself and to once again be a common homeland for all Hungarians,鈥� he said.
Hungary’s new National Assembly has 54 women lawmakers, most from the Tisza party 鈥� more than a quarter of the total and the most in Hungary鈥檚 history.
One of them, Andrea Szepesi, an economist from Budapest, said it was 鈥渁bout time鈥� that more women held seats in parliament. Under Orb谩n’s rule, there were fewer women in government than in nearly all of the EU’s other 26 nations.
鈥淔inally, women are able to participate in this new, beautiful democratic system and the flourishing of the country,鈥� Szepesi told The Associated Press.
Repairing relations with the EU
Magyar has promised to repair his country鈥檚 ties with the EU, which Orb谩n had , and to restore Hungary鈥檚 place among Western democracies, whose standing had been called into question as Orb谩n .
The EU flag was raised on the parliament building鈥檚 facade Saturday afternoon for the first time since Orb谩n鈥檚 government removed it in 2014.
($20 billion) of EU funds for Hungary frozen during Orb谩n鈥檚 time in office over rule-of-law and corruption concerns is also among the new prime minister鈥檚 top priorities. The money is sorely needed to help jump-start Hungary鈥檚 struggling economy, which has stagnated for the past four years.
Another attendee of the celebration, 27-year-old web designer 脕ron Farsang, said he expects the new Tisza government to restore Hungary’s democratic institutions and to 鈥渓ead us back toward the European Union.鈥�
鈥淚 would also really like it if we could get rid of the Russian influence as soon as possible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 thinking about energy dependency and their general political style.鈥�
Accounting for the past
Many of the nearly 3.4 million Hungarians that voted for Tisza expect Magyar to hold Fidesz officials and their business allies accountable for the perceived misconduct of the outgoing administration.
In his speech to the National Assembly, he called on Fidesz-appointed heads of government institutions, including President Tam谩s Sulyok, to resign no later than May 31.
Magyar plans to form a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds misused during Orb谩n鈥檚 tenure. He鈥檚 also vowed to suspend the news services of Hungary鈥檚 public broadcaster 鈥� widely seen as a mouthpiece of Orb谩n鈥檚 party 鈥� until objectivity can be restored.
In his speech to lawmakers, Magyar referenced his intentions to hold former officials accountable for past abuses, saying voters had 鈥済iven us a mandate to open a new chapter in Hungary鈥檚 history.
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