Peter Magyar takes office pledging to clean up Hungary’s mess

MAY 9th WAS a day of symbolism in Budapest. In the morning Peter Magyar was sworn in as prime minister in Hungary’s majestic neo-gothic parliament. For his inauguration he had picked “Europe Day”, which the European Union celebrates as its notional anniversary, to mark Hungary’s renewed commitment to the bloc. Members of parliament sang along to four anthems: the Hungarian one; the Szekely anthem of the Hungarian minority in Romania; “Ode to Joy”, the anthem of the EU; and the unofficial anthem of the Roma, performed by children in white shirts and bow ties. In the afternoon tens of thousands gathered for a “Regime Change” party on Kossuth Square.

Mr Magyar thanked the crowd for delivering a Hungary “that is democratic once again”, and promised a “system change” after 16 years of Viktor Orban’s illiberal rule. It is a hugely ambitious project. Mr Magyar must re-establish the rule of law, hold Mr Orban and his corrupt cronies accountable for their deeds and, perhaps most important, repair Hungary’s relationship with the EU.

Rebuilding ties with Brussels is particularly urgent. Because of Mr Orban’s violations of the rule of law, the EU has blocked the disbursal of funds amounting to around €18bn ($21bn), nearly 10% of Hungary’s GDP. The biggest pot of aid is from the union’s post-covid recovery plan, which will expire at the end of August. “Magyar is prioritising the two conditions for the receipt of those funds, putting in place an anti-corruption programme and a plan to restore judicial independence,” says Kim Lane Scheppele, an expert on Hungarian law at Princeton University.

Mr Magyar made a start by announcing that Hungary will create a programme to recover misappropriated assets, and will join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which prosecutes crimes involving the EU’s budget. Judicial independence can be achieved by simply enforcing the laws that Mr Orban refused to, says Ms Lane Scheppele. For example, the Supreme Court must allocate cases randomly; under Mr Orban, cases involving the government were assigned to friendly judges.

Mr Orban liked to concentrate power in a few big ministries. Mr Magyar’s cabinet, by contrast, has grown to 16 ministers, mainly experienced outsiders who have not served in government. Anita Orban (no relation of Viktor), a diplomat and energy expert, is the foreign minister. The economy minister is Istvan Kapitany, a former executive at Shell. Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, the armed forces’ chief of staff until Mr Orban ousted him for his pro-Western views, takes over as defence minister.

Perhaps the most popular choice is Zsolt Hegedus, the health minister, whose dance moves amused crowds on election day and at the inauguration party. But Mr Magyar made his first big misstep by announcing he would nominate Marton Mellethei-Barna, his brother-in-law, as justice minister. He may have felt he needed a loyal lieutenant in the post. The move drew accusations of nepotism, and Mr Mellethei-Barna withdrew his candidacy. After Mr Orban’s cronyistic rule, Hungarians have had enough of family connections. ■