Peter Magyar, the former opposition leader, was sworn in on Saturday as prime minister of Hungary, after winning an uphill election campaign to unseat Viktor Orban, whose 16 years in power made him a global icon of nationalist right-wing politics.<\/p>\n
Mr. Magyar, 45, a lawyer, has vowed to reverse the democratic backsliding and embedded corruption that ultimately turned huge numbers of voters away from Mr. Orban\u2019s Fidesz party and handed the opposition Tisza movement a landslide victory less than a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t rule Hungary, but serve it,\u201d Mr. Magyar promised in his inaugural speech inside Parliament.<\/p>\n
Hungarian voters, he said, gave his government a mandate \u201cto open a new chapter in Hungary\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only to change the government, but to \u2060change the system, as well,\u201d he said. \u201cTo start again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In April, Tisza, which Mr. Magyar took over in 2024 after souring on Fidesz and breaking from it, secured an overwhelming 141 seats in the national assembly. Fidesz managed to keep only 52 seats, despite extensive gerrymandering, near-total control of the news media and a full-throated endorsement from President Trump and his top officials.<\/p>\n
The scale of Mr. Magyar\u2019s victory has left Fidesz in pell-mell retreat, and it has the potential to give him a powerful hand as he faces the monumental task of dismantling what Mr. Orban called \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d and reviving Hungary\u2019s anemic economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been waiting for this moment for 16 years,\u201d said Gyorgy Mozar-Bor, 42, who, with his partner, was among the thousands of Hungarians outside Parliament on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has become clear that Fidesz has begun to build a Russian-style state, heading out of Europe,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we belong to Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Magyar will have to prove that he can lead the country. Many in his parliamentary faction are political novices \u2014 and so is most of his cabinet.<\/p>\n
His job could be harder if Fidesz-appointed dignitaries, including the president, the chief prosecutor and heads of various judicial, regulatory and oversight authorities, remain at their posts. Mr. Magyar instructed them to resign by the end of May.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe easiest solution would be if they stepped down,\u201d said Gabor Attila Toth, a lawyer and professor at the University of Debrecen, in eastern Hungary. Otherwise, he said, the new government has two options: use existing laws to oust them, which will be difficult, or \u201cchange the Constitution and the relevant laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fidesz-installed president, Tamas Sulyok, has not said if he will step down. On Saturday, in his opening speech for the new Parliament\u2019s inaugural session, he said he hoped for a \u201cconstructive collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many former Fidesz loyalists are already distancing themselves from the losing party.<\/p>\n
Mr. Magyar has also pledged to hold corrupt businessmen and politicians accountable and to recover stolen funds for the state. That could, at least temporarily, help stabilize the economy.<\/p>\n
A key test will be if he can reclaim E.U. funding withheld from the previous government, more than $12 billion of which is set to expire in August.<\/p>\n
Zoltan Tarr, Tisza\u2019s incoming culture minister and the party\u2019s delegate to the European Parliament, has confidence that the new government will secure the funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest obstacle is time,\u201d Mr. Tarr said on Saturday. Mr. Orban\u2019s government, he added, had years to resolve the disputes. \u201cAnd we have to solve these in a matter of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n