The man who ended Viktor Orbán's 16 years in office, Péter Magyar, is meeting Hungary's president, seeking a speedy transfer of power after Sunday's landslide victory. President Tamás Sulyok, who has refused Magyar's demand to step down, is widely expected to nominate Magyar as the next prime minister. Magyar has said he needs to be in office by about 5 May.
Hungary's next PM appeared on public radio and TV for the first time in 18 months on Wednesday and made clear his intention to suspend their news coverage, which he has condemned as propaganda. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said Magyar was a good man, having actively campaigned for Orbán.
I think the new man's going to do a good job, Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, having previously called on Hungarians to get out and vote for his friend and close ally, Orbán.
Magyar arrived for the talks at the presidential palace shortly before 10:00 (08:00 GMT). The two other party leaders with MPs in parliament were also invited to the meeting with President Sulyok, including Orbán.
Magyar broke with Orbán's party in March 2024 and over two years attracted a cross-section of public support for his Tisza party, which swept the ruling Fidesz from power on Sunday with a so-called super-majority of two-thirds of the seats in parliament.
He said 70-80% of Hungary's media had been requisitioned by Orbán allies, insulting him and his party with 300 lies every day, not allowing him a single appearance on state TV even once. But that changed on Wednesday, first with a half-hour broadcast on state-run Kossuth radio followed by an appearance on M1 TV, in which he confirmed his aim to suspend their news coverage and form a new broadcast authority to ensure press freedom.
Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth, he told Kossuth radio, explaining he was not after personal revenge, even though he and his family had been insulted morning, noon and night. His interviews were at times combative as he told the TV and radio hosts that their outlets had broadcast propaganda.
Magyar is in a rush to overturn years of Orbán policies that turned Hungary into what the European Parliament termed an electoral autocracy. Hungarians became angered by repeated scandals involving corruption and cronyism, and Magyar has spoken of his predecessor's administration robbing his country bare.
Billions of euros of EU funding was frozen over rule of law and other issues, and Magyar talked to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday in a bid to unlock the cash.
Hungary's economy has been languishing for some time and Von der Leyen said there was swift work to be done to... restore the rule of law. Realign with our shared European values. An estimated €17bn (£14.8bn) has been suspended, but Hungary is also waiting for €16bn more to be approved in defence loans.
In a twist, Orbán is expected to be still in place as caretaker prime minister when EU leaders meet for an informal summit in Cyprus on 23-24 April. EU leaders are urgently pushing for Hungary to overturn a veto imposed by Orbán on €90bn in aid to Ukraine in the weeks leading up to the election.
Magyar has made clear he does not consider the veto to be relevant, as Hungary was one of three countries that opted out of the loan to Ukraine last December. However, it is not clear how the veto will be lifted and whether Orbán will himself be involved. Orbán himself has largely kept quiet since his landslide election defeat. He posted a message on Facebook making clear he intended to rebuild his party: The work begins. Let's reorganise ourselves and keep fighting for the Hungarian people!\
Hungary's next PM appeared on public radio and TV for the first time in 18 months on Wednesday and made clear his intention to suspend their news coverage, which he has condemned as propaganda. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said Magyar was a good man, having actively campaigned for Orbán.
I think the new man's going to do a good job, Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, having previously called on Hungarians to get out and vote for his friend and close ally, Orbán.
Magyar arrived for the talks at the presidential palace shortly before 10:00 (08:00 GMT). The two other party leaders with MPs in parliament were also invited to the meeting with President Sulyok, including Orbán.
Magyar broke with Orbán's party in March 2024 and over two years attracted a cross-section of public support for his Tisza party, which swept the ruling Fidesz from power on Sunday with a so-called super-majority of two-thirds of the seats in parliament.
He said 70-80% of Hungary's media had been requisitioned by Orbán allies, insulting him and his party with 300 lies every day, not allowing him a single appearance on state TV even once. But that changed on Wednesday, first with a half-hour broadcast on state-run Kossuth radio followed by an appearance on M1 TV, in which he confirmed his aim to suspend their news coverage and form a new broadcast authority to ensure press freedom.
Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth, he told Kossuth radio, explaining he was not after personal revenge, even though he and his family had been insulted morning, noon and night. His interviews were at times combative as he told the TV and radio hosts that their outlets had broadcast propaganda.
Magyar is in a rush to overturn years of Orbán policies that turned Hungary into what the European Parliament termed an electoral autocracy. Hungarians became angered by repeated scandals involving corruption and cronyism, and Magyar has spoken of his predecessor's administration robbing his country bare.
Billions of euros of EU funding was frozen over rule of law and other issues, and Magyar talked to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday in a bid to unlock the cash.
Hungary's economy has been languishing for some time and Von der Leyen said there was swift work to be done to... restore the rule of law. Realign with our shared European values. An estimated €17bn (£14.8bn) has been suspended, but Hungary is also waiting for €16bn more to be approved in defence loans.
In a twist, Orbán is expected to be still in place as caretaker prime minister when EU leaders meet for an informal summit in Cyprus on 23-24 April. EU leaders are urgently pushing for Hungary to overturn a veto imposed by Orbán on €90bn in aid to Ukraine in the weeks leading up to the election.
Magyar has made clear he does not consider the veto to be relevant, as Hungary was one of three countries that opted out of the loan to Ukraine last December. However, it is not clear how the veto will be lifted and whether Orbán will himself be involved. Orbán himself has largely kept quiet since his landslide election defeat. He posted a message on Facebook making clear he intended to rebuild his party: The work begins. Let's reorganise ourselves and keep fighting for the Hungarian people!\
