Magyar told public radio and public news channel M1 that after the formation of his government, they will maintain and extend the regulated utilities price scheme, bring home EU funds, adopt a new media law and suspend the public media news service.

Speaking to Kossuth Radio, Magyar said all Hungarians deserved a public media "that broadcasts reality", so a new media law, a new media authority and the development of professional conditions would be needed for the public media to really fulfil its function.

Magyar said that the last time he had visited the public media was more than a year and a half ago, on Sept 26, 2024, and that it had taken the votes of more than 3.3 million people and a mandate unprecedented in the history of modern Hungarian democracy to have him back in.

The presenter reminded Magyar that he was last contacted on Jan 26, and before that he had been invited to appear live on the air for seven consecutive days, but had not sent a reply.

Magyar said that "a day or two since the regime change took place", and since the "state party suffered an unprecedented defeat, some people are trying to pretend that nothing has happened, even in this building, leaders and editors, and are trying to function as free media".

One of the first steps after forming a government would be suspending the "propaganda media's" news service, he said, insisting it had "inflicted enormous damage on Hungarians". "They instilled fear in the hearts of Hungarians, in our children, fuelled warmongering … and terrified our elderly, even poisoning minds during ad breaks in sports broadcasts," Magyar said.

He said this was not a desire for revenge, "not personal revenge", but the Hungarian people, Fidesz voters and Tisza voters alike, all Hungarians deserved a public media "that broadcasts reality".

"So we will need a little time for a new media law, a new media authority and the creation of professional conditions for the public media, the public media that operates with hundreds of billions of forints, to really fulfil its function," he said.

He also said that hundreds of thousands of Hungarians did not have healthy food on their tables, and while "160 billion are burned every year with overpriced contracts and lies, 200-300 of our fellow citizens die, freezing in their own apartments, in their own houses during winter."

He vowed to launch a programme for a "functional and humane Hungary" and prove to Fidesz voters that "not a word" was true about the Tisza Party being pro-war or anti-Hungarian.

Meanwhile, Magyar said family support schemes would not only be preserved but expanded.

He highlighted that family benefits, including childcare allowances and supplements, had not been raised since 2008, despite inflation exceeding 100 percent. "It’s shocking that the family allowance stands at just [monthly] 12,800 forints," he said.

Magyar said Hungary had become the European Union's "poorest and most corrupt country", adding that while all 26 member states had received EU funds, Hungarians were still missing out on 8 trillion forints (EUR 22bn). "We will bring that money home," he vowed.

Magyar said that Prime Minister Viktor Orban "could not or did not want" to bring home European Union funds of 8 trillion forints that all countries had received.

He said there were strict deadlines for the funds to be drawn down, and that the end of August would decide whether the country could draw down 4 trillion forints from the reconstruction fund.

Magyar said that they would do everything to access EU funds. He said the Orban government had four years to do the same, but "did nothing, only vetoed, fought and lied, instead of bringing home the EU funds".

He said they planned to use EU funds to create jobs, support Hungarian SMEs, Hungarian family businesses, so that they can "breathe life back into the Hungarian countryside".

He said that one trillion forints would be spent on road development because Hungarian roads were impassable and the Hungarian railway company MAV was "dying".

Asked if there would be a high-speed railway in Hungary similar to the one in Poland, he said "and there will be one between Warsaw and Budapest". He added that he would also discuss infrastructure investments with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during his visit to Warsaw.

One trillion forints will be spent on an energy efficiency programme for households and businesses, which has been stopped by the Orban government, he said.

A further one trillion will be spent on hospitals, Magyar said, adding that "Orban's plan to close 38 small rural hospitals will not be implemented", and small hospitals in the countryside will be developed with EU funds. Additionally, top regional hospitals will be created, Magyar said.

He said he had already discussed terms with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Priority actions include adopting anti-corruption measures, joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office and establishing a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, as well as a separate body to oversee the entire public sector.

A wealth audit covering the past 20 years will also be launched for all former MPs and their family members, he said.

He vowed that his government would only accept conditions that served the Hungarian people, adding that they would truly represent Hungary's interests in Brussels, Strasbourg, Moscow and Washington".

Key conditions, he said, included "restoring press freedom, immediately ending state-funded Goebbels-style propaganda" and suspending the public media's news service post-government formation. Restoring academic freedom was another priority, he said.

Magyar said they would return universities to their academic communities and senates, "taking them out of the hands of the mafia".

He said the EU funds owed to Hungary came to roughly 1 million forints per citizen. He promised to boost the economy and develop hospitals. He said the Orban government had cut 10,000 hospital beds and closed 225 hospital wards.

Commenting on the issue of energy security, he said the most important thing was to ensure a secure energy supply at the cheapest possible price for oil, petrol and gas, and to ensure that the country is sustainable even in the event of international conflicts and war.

The previous government had 16 years to build and improve the capacity of interconnectors at the borders in order to enable Hungary to be supplied with oil from more than one direction, he said.

The Adriatic pipeline could have been used and expanded, and an agreement reached with Croatia, rather than "a cold war situation" created, he added.

The Tisza government will diversify Hungary's sources of crude, and it aims to get crude from the most sources at the best prices, Magyar said. He added that the Druzhba pipeline, which brings Russian crude to Hungary via Ukraine, would remain a supply source.

Even if Hungary wanted to, it could not completely cut off the Russian crude it gets through the Druzhba because of the country's geography, he said.

Magyar highlighted the responsibility of the caretaker government and Orban in the coming 20-30 days.

"Naturally, everybody hopes deliveries through the Druzhba will restart by the end of April, even so, it will take a long time to replenish strategic reserves," he said.

The Hungarian government has introduced an official price and reduced the excise duty on petrol as much as possible, he said, noting that they would like to continue this. However, he said there were other solutions, such as what Poland has done by radically reducing the VAT content of petrol and diesel, making petrol cheaper there and in many other countries.

He said that they were already contacting the relevant authorities, in consultation with managers of oil and gas company MOL and the state bodies responsible for strategic oil supply, at the time of the take-over.

He said the Tisza government would retain and expand the regulated utilities price scheme to include firewood, noting that 1.5 million people rely on it for heating.

Magyar said firewood prices have tripled since 2010, while the state's social firewood budget, just 5 billion forints, has not increased since 2019. "Meanwhile, 20 billion was spent on propaganda," he insisted.

The Tisza government will also review the fourfold increase in system usage fees, Magyar added.

He said businessman Lorinc Meszaros "became five times richer in a decade than the British royal family in 400 years", while one million pensioners were living below the subsistence level, 400,000 children were in deep poverty and hundreds were freezing to death in their own homes.

Noting Orban's approval of the European Union's 90 billion euro loan package for Ukraine in December, Magyar said the Hungarian prime minister had then taken an "unprecedented step in the EU" by refusing to formally endorse the already agreed proposal at a technical level during the election campaign.

He said Orban had simplified the problems around the Druzhba pipeline to "no oil, no money".

However, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledging to resume oil deliveries by the end of April and Orban's government still in a caretaker role for the next 30 days, Magyar said he expected Orban to drop his technical veto, just as Slovakia had done.

Magyar said congratulations had also come from Orban's allies, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. "All of Viktor Orban's allies have congratulated us. I also spoke with the Turkish president yesterday," he added.

All these leaders have been invited to Hungary to jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution, he said, celebrating the Hungarian people's decision to make their country a sovereign, free, and independent nation, rather than "a Russian puppet state".

Magyar: 'All of Orban's allies have congratulated us'

All of outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's allies have sent congratulations to the incoming Tisza government, Peter Magyar, the party's leader, told public news channel M1 on Wednesday, adding that he has invited these leaders to attend the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 revolution.

Noting Orban's approval of the European Union's 90 billion euro loan package for Ukraine in December, Magyar said the Hungarian prime minister had then taken an "unprecedented step in the EU" by refusing to formally endorse the already agreed proposal at a technical level during the election campaign.

He said Orban had simplified the problems around the Druzhba pipeline to "no oil, no money".

However, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledging to resume oil deliveries by the end of April and Orban's government still in a caretaker role for the next 30 days, Magyar said he expected Orban to drop his technical veto, just as Slovakia has done.

Magyar said congratulations had also come from Orban's allies, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. "All of Viktor Orban's allies have congratulated us. I also spoke with the Turkish president yesterday," Magyar added.

All these leaders have been invited to Hungary to jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution, he said, celebrating the Hungarian people's decision to make their country a sovereign, free, and independent nation, rather than "a Russian puppet state".

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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