On April 12, parliamentary elections were held in Hungary: according to the results of the vote, the Fidesz party and its leader Viktor Orbán, who ruled the country for 16 years, suffered a painful defeat. The opposition party TISA won. It has a constitutional majority in Parliament, and its leader, Peter Magyar, will become the country’s new prime minister. We tell you what he is known for and how Hungary’s relations with Russia and Ukraine could change under his reign.
Who is Peter Magyar?
Hungarian, 45 years old child In a family that was closely involved in Hungarian politics. His mother Monika Eros served as Principal Secretary of the Supreme Court, and his great-uncle Ferenc Madl served as President of Hungary from 2000 to 2005. Magyar earned a law degree and also began building a political career.
In the early 2000s, he joined Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, which a fan Since childhood. In 1989, Orbán, then a young lawyer, became a hero of the anti-communist movement in Hungary, demanding the withdrawal of Soviet forces from the country and free elections. In 1990, when these elections took place, Orbán was elected to parliament and headed the Fidesz party, and Magyar (who was nine years old at the time) hung his picture on the wall.
After joining Fidesz, Madyar worked in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and in the Hungarian Delegation to the European Union, but did not hold senior positions. His wife Judit Varga, with whom Magyar lived for 17 years and had three children, had a more successful career. In 2019, she became Minister of Justice in Orbán’s government. The couple divorced in 2023.
How did he defeat Viktor Orbán?
In January 2023, two months before his divorce from Varga, Hungarian Secretly recorded A conversation in which she said that aides to Orban’s chief of staff, Antal Rogan, asked the prosecutor’s office to exclude the name of their boss from the materials of a high-level criminal case related to corruption. In March 2024, after Varga resigned due to… Another scandalMagyar posted a recording of the conversation on Facebook. His post received two million views.
At the same time, Magyar announced a breakaway from Fidesz and took control of the small Tisza party, which quickly gained popularity under his leadership. Since Fidesz controls the largest Hungarian media outlets, Hungarians have relied on social media and travel throughout the country. He actively met with rural residents and Hungarians living in neighboring countries, both groups that had traditionally been Fidesz’s audience.
In addition, Magyar benefited from the fact that he was seen as coming from the regime, knowing its weaknesses, and thus capable of defeating Orbán. Timea Szabó, a Hungarian member of parliament for the Green Party, told Politico: “We are not voting for Tisza, but against Fidesz. That’s the point. Hungarians at this point will vote for the GOAT if he runs against Orbán.” It is marked with a star from the elections to make way for the candidate of Tisa.
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How will it change Budapest’s relations with Kiev and Moscow?
Magyar is a centre-right politician. He calls for rapprochement with the European Union and the United States and promises to unfreeze billions of euros in European funding blocked due to disagreements between Orban and Brussels. Hungary also intends to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, a NATO target.
At the same time, he calls for strict regulation of migration, does not want to help Kiev with arms in the war with Russia, and does not support Ukraine’s rapid accession to the European Union. Magyar believes that all EU candidates should be evaluated equally and that Ukraine does not yet meet the conditions for accession. “If this changes after many years, Hungary will put the question of approving Ukraine’s application to join the European Union to a referendum, the Hungarian promised.
Despite this rhetoric, the European Union hopes that relations between Ukraine and Hungary will become less tense in the near future. Yes, Berlin indeed Named Budapest lifts its veto over a €90 billion loan to Kiev, which Orban rejected. At the same time, in February, representatives of TESA in the European Parliament Vote In exchange for allocating this loan.
Relations with Russia must be “pragmatic” to talk Hungarian. At the same time, he made clear that he intends to rid Hungary of its energy dependence on the Kremlin and promote the country’s Western path. “Let us end the controversy over the phrase between East and West and join the West once and for all!” — She says In the political program of the TISA party.
Is the Hungarian populist like Orban?
Magyar may be considered a populist in his political style, but he represents an example of “democratic populism” as opposed to Orbán’s “authoritarian populism.” He believes Hungarian political scientist Zoltan Adam. He points out that the victory of Hungary and Tisza in the parliamentary elections at the same time gives Hungary hope of restoring democracy and carries the risk of sliding into authoritarian rule. After obtaining the constitutional majority in Parliament, Tisza will no longer be bound by democratic institutions, because Fidesz has already dismantled them. This means that the Hungarian will have the same full power that Orbán had, and will decide what to do with it.
Meanwhile, he remains Hungarian You will collide With the restrictions that his predecessor had prepared for him. Fidesz’s influence remains among those appointed to supervisory positions, control of the media, and even President Tamas Sojok, who is considered close to Orbán.
Although Magyar has received widespread support from the Hungarian opposition as a counterweight to Orbán, his background in Fidesz, as well as his leadership style (he single-handedly runs the Tessa party, which he described as a “one-man show”), has raised concerns among some. Petr Marchi Zai – opposition prime ministerial candidate who lost to Orbán in 2022 – male Politico, which considers Hungarian “arrogant”, “selfish” and “despicable”. But he added that these are precisely the traits required to resist Orban. “We’re not going to marry him,” Markie Zay said. “We just need someone to leave Orbán behind.” <…> “If he does not keep his promises, we will not tolerate him.”