Parliament without Orban: Hungary’s new era begins under Peter Magyar

Hungary is preparing for a major political transition as incoming Prime Minister Peter Magyar gets ready to form a new government on Saturday after his Tisza party’s landslide election victory ended 16 years of rule by Viktor Orban.

Tisza won 141 seats in Hungary’s 199-member parliament in the April election, an extraordinary rise for a party founded only in 2020.

Orban’s nationalist Fidesz party collapsed from 135 seats to just 52, marking one of the biggest political shifts in the country since the fall of communism.

The new parliament is set to open in Budapest on Saturday, with thousands expected to gather outside parliament for what Magyar's supporters are calling a “celebration of freedom and democracy”. Magyar has described the moment as a “gateway of regime change”.

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Parliament without Orban

In a further sign of the dramatic transition, Orban announced that he would not take up his parliamentary seat despite being re-elected as an MP on the Fidesz party list.

“I am now needed not in parliament, but in the reorganisation of the patriotic movement,” the 62-year-old former prime minister said in a video message on social media.

Former cabinet minister Gergely Gulyas is expected to lead the reduced Fidesz parliamentary bloc.

Orban’s absence from parliament would symbolically close a long political era during which he dominated Hungarian politics and frequently clashed with the European Union over migration, media freedom and rule-of-law issues.

Investigations lined up

The incoming Tisza government says it will avoid political revenge but plans to investigate alleged corruption and misuse of public funds during the Orban years.

Zoltan Tarr, who is expected to serve as minister for social relations and culture, said that the new administration was inheriting a difficult economic situation after years of heavy government spending and controversial state contracts awarded to business groups close to Fidesz.

Tisza leaders have promised to create a new office to recover “stolen assets” and pursue investigations within the framework of the rule of law.

Several inquiries are already under way. Authorities are reportedly examining the activities of businessman Gyula Balasy and his media empire, which received millions in government contracts and ran major Fidesz political campaigns. Investigators are also looking into Hungary’s National Cultural Fund over allegations that public money may have been directed toward Fidesz election campaigns.

The new government has also tried to project a cleaner image. Magyar's brother-in-law Marton Mellethei-Barna withdrew from consideration for the justice minister post after criticism over possible conflicts of interest.

Ties with EU and migration challenges

One of the biggest immediate tasks for the new government will be repairing Hungary’s relationship with the European Union and unlocking about €17 billion in frozen EU funds.

The European Commission had withheld the money during Orban’s rule because of concerns over corruption and democratic standards. However, some EU officials have warned that part of the funding could now be permanently lost.

Migration policy also remains politically sensitive. Hungary continues to face daily EU fines over its refusal to comply with court rulings on migrant treatment. At the same time, surveys suggest many Tisza voters remain cautious about immigration and Ukraine’s possible EU membership.

Like Orban before him, Magyar has said that Hungary will still need Russian oil and gas supplies in the short term, signalling that some parts of the country’s foreign policy may remain unchanged even as a new political chapter begins.