Hungary has a new prime minister, Péter Magyar, whose Tisza won a constitutional majority. The first session of the parliament thus starts a rapid change of power.
On Saturday, the new Hungarian parliament elected Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party won a constitutional majority in the April elections, as prime minister, reports TASR.
- Péter Magyar was elected Hungarian Prime Minister, he received significant parliamentary support.
- The Tisza party has achieved a constitutional majority, thereby fundamentally controlling the Hungarian parliament.
- Mass celebrations of Magyar’s election took place on Kossuth Square in Budapest.
- Ágnes Forsthoffer became the Speaker of the Parliament and returned the flag of the European Union.
- Orbán’s Fidesz lost power after sixteen years, Tisza won decisive mandates.
140 MPs supported Magyar as Prime Minister, 54 were against and one abstained from voting. Immediately, he solemnly took the oath.
There were celebrations in Budapest
Magyar’s election was welcomed by a crowd of supporters gathered at Kossuth Square in Budapest with applause and cheers, writes the 24.hu server. Hungarian flags appeared in the crowd watching the vote in the parliament on large screens.
The election of the prime minister at the first session of the new parliament changes the political habits of the past, because in the past it was more of a formal affair dedicated to the swearing in and distribution of posts in the legislature. This was reported by the 168.hu server, according to which Tisza is pushing for the maximum acceleration of the processes so that the new government receives the mandate without unnecessary delays.
The new Speaker of the Parliament
Ágnes Forsthofferová became the President of the Hungarian National Assembly, whose first decision was to re-hang the flag of the European Union on the parliament building.
Hearings of ministerial candidates should start already on Sunday in the relevant parliamentary committees, so that the new government cabinet can officially take power on May 12.
Planned government reforms
In addition to personnel changes, the new government also wants to focus on in-depth reform of the executive and legislative structure. The adoption of laws on the new organization of ministries, which should reflect Tisza’s priorities, is already expected at the constituent session of the parliament.
Under the leadership of Magyar, the latter won 141 out of 199 parliamentary mandates, which is eight more than the minimum two-thirds constitutional majority. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz-KDNP bloc has won 52 mandates, and the far-right Our Homeland Movement (Mi Hazánk Mozgalom) has six of them. Orbán was in power in Hungary for 16 years until his electoral defeat.
