In his speech after taking his oath of office, Magyar pledged to work "with faith, determination and love of country" to live up to the example of predecessors like Lajos Batthyany, Imre Nagy and Jozsef Antall.

"Integrity, courage, wisdom: as prime minister, I will humbly follow their lead and learn from them," he said. "I feel and understand the weight of my responsibility."

Magyar said that serving as Hungary's prime minister carried immense political and personal responsibility, as well as a historic duty to ensure the sacrifices of his predecessors for the nation were not in vain.

Magyar reflected on how the prime minister's office could be turned from serving the nation to serving power itself, how politicians could become prisoners of their own systems, and how a political community could lose touch with the people who entrusted it with power.

He warned that Hungarian history taught every prime minister that power was fleeting, but the consequences of their decisions endured for generations.

He quoted Antall: "I shall serve as long as my service is of use, to the best of my ability, and as long as the Hungarian nation demands it."

"I can feel and understand the weight of my responsibility... I am standing here today not because I am better than anyone in the country. I am here because millions of Hungarians decided they wanted change. The trust we received is an honour and a grave moral obligation," he said.

Magyar said the "uplifting work for this country" now focused on "what our home, fate, and the future of our children and grandchildren will be."

Turnout for the April 12 election, with 3,385,000 "votes for regime change", presented an "unprecedented force with which Hungarians stood up for change," he said, adding that Hungarians had handed the incoming government a mandate to put an end to "decades of drift".

Magyar said Hungarians had given him a mandate to "open a new chapter in Hungary's history". He said the people wanted not just a change of government, but also a change of regime. "We must start anew," he declared.

But, he warned, it was not possible to start over without reconciliation, adding there was no reconciliation without justice, "and no justice without confronting the past".

If any of these elements were missing, Magyar said, "the Hungarian people who entrusted us with this mandate will be disappointed again."

He called it symbolic that the two prime ministers of the "Orban-Gyurcsany era" were not sitting in parliament "to speak openly and clearly of the legacy they are leaving us."

"They failed politically, morally and humanly," he said. The political model "preying on each other while robbing the homeland, mobilising against each other while consuming Hungary's economic, moral and social reserves" had failed, he added.

Twenty-two years after Hungary was given the greatest opportunity in its modern history by joining the EU, "our country has become scorched earth. It has been plundered, pillaged, betrayed and misled. And when the time came to take responsibility for all this ... they slunk away, resigned, retreated, and washed their hands of it."

He added: the fact that the figures who gave their names to that era were not sitting in parliament today was an accurate reflection of the political culture that had dominated Hungary for decades, "a culture of shirking responsibility, a complete lack of self-examination, and the exercise of power without consequences."

But the Hungarian people, Magyar insisted, would not do them the favour of letting them avoid accountability. Tisza, he said, had inherited a country where three million people lived in poverty, 800,000 pensioners lived below the subsistence level, and 400,000 children grew up in deprivation and social exclusion.

The outgoing government "ran up more than ninety percent of the annual projected budget deficit in just three months," and attempted to "steal everything that could be moved even in its final hours", he added.

Magyar said tens of thousands of people died prematurely every year because the health-care system had been "bled dry", where 900,000 people "do not have their own family doctor, where people must wait months or years for an examination or surgery, and where people live five years less than the European average."

Meanwhile, education, he said, once a path to upward mobility, had become a tool for reproducing social inequality, where a child's fate could be sealed at birth by their family's financial status or place of residence. 

"It is a country where half of all adults try to live on less than 300,000 forints a month, while prices have spiralled out of control, housing has become an unaffordable luxury for young families, and child protection has often abandoned the most vulnerable," he said.

"We have inherited country where the state prioritised enriching a narrow political and economic elite over its own citizens, as trillions vanished into foundations, the central bank, overpriced projects and the pockets of political cronies," Magyar said.

Over the past decade and a half, he said, Hungary had become the EU's "most corrupt country", with 20 trillion forints of public wealth "siphoned off and stolen" from public services.

The cost, Magyar said, had been borne not by the elite but by the entire nation, while "politics deliberately turned Hungarians against each other", stoking division through "hatred, fear and constant incitement". He promised that "Hungary can still become a just and humane home for all of us."

"What happened was not the fault of the Hungarian people," he said. Instead, he added, they had proven themselves wiser, more democratic and more patriotic than the political elite that had "abandoned them" for decades.

Every political side, he said, now had to confront its own responsibility, starting with acknowledging "the personal and moral damage caused by its leaders".

Magyar criticised the opposition for having "failed to hold the government to account" and for having allowed Hungary "to drift into ever-deeper crisis". "The Hungarian people deserve better than the elite and politics they've been saddled with."

He vowed that the Tisza Party would end the era of division, working instead to strengthen what united Hungarians over what divided them. "We will rebuild the language of trust, humanity and shared patriotism," Magyar said, promising a politics that "restores hope, security and common purpose".

The prime minister also vowed to remember the "historic moment" when millions of Hungarians demanded a new chapter for their country.

He warned, however, that "only after confronting the past can there be justice". Justice, he added, was essential for democratic renewal, because Hungary could not build a new era on "silenced crimes, hidden contracts, public assets plundered for private gain and unpunished abuses of power".

He announced that the bill on the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office will be among the first to be submitted by the new Tisza government.

Magyar justified the move by saying that Hungarians deserved to know how the power structures of past decades had operated, and the decisions that had led to "a significant portion of the nation's common wealth being concentrated in the hands of a narrow political and economic elite".

The prime minister said Hungarians had a right to know "how public funds became private wealth, how state assets turned into political influence, how public procurement became a feudal system and how concessions became privileges".

Magyar said the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office would be "one of the most important institutions of the 2026 change of regime".

The office's task will be to uncover abuses of public assets over the past 20 years, investigate corruption and the concealment of assets, support criminal proceedings and use all legal means to reclaim illegally acquired public wealth.

The office, he added, would not be a political tool under government control but would operate as an independent, autonomous state body, accountable solely to parliament.

Its independence, professionalism and transparency were essential, he said, arguing that "justice can only be credible if the institution itself stands on the rule of law."

He said the office would investigate the system of public procurements, concession contracts, public assets siphoned into foundations overpriced state investments, the misuse of European Union funds, financial structures linked to the central bank, the flow of "TAO" state funding for sports, private equity funds and offshore schemes.

It would also look into "any transactions suspected of harming public assets, abuse of office, embezzlement, money laundering, budget fraud or the concealment of assets", he added.

He said that where assets could be recovered through civil law, he would initiate proceedings for damages, unjust enrichment, asset seizure, and asset freezing. Where assets had been transferred abroad, he would seek international legal assistance and cooperation. And where state contracts, concessions, or foundation structures violated the public interest, he would challenge them through legal channels.

"Anyone who believes that political connections, party loyalty, personal allegiance, or old-guard protection can provide immunity from the consequences of violations of the law, abuses of power, or acts against public property is seriously mistaken."

Hungary, Magyar declared, would no longer be a country without consequences.

"What belongs to the nation must serve the nation, what was unlawfully taken will be recovered through legal means, what was concealed will be made public, and what was committed will be investigated and exposed. Those responsible will be held accountable for their actions," he said.

Many public institutions, he noted, had lost the public's faith and trust in their independence, adding that the previous government had hollowed out the system of checks and balances and left the nation to fend for itself in times of trouble.

He called on the leaders of such institutions and public officials "who have become political servants of the former regime … to find the courage to face their own responsibility and step aside from the path of Hungary's democratic renewal."

Magyar also called on heads of those institutions to "resign today, but no later than May 31, and let President Tamas Sulyok be the first to do so."

Noting that Sulyok, in his speech ahead of the parliamentary session, had spoken about representing the entire nation and upholding the rule of law, the prime minister said the head of state had "expressed concern for the rule of law for the first time in two years".

"The president failed to express concern when Viktor Orban … called half the country vermin to be exterminated, or when Viktor Orban or the president of Hungary's Supreme Court threatened or harassed judges, artists or civilians. He failed to speak out even when he should have stood up for minors ruined by the child protection system, or when the now-deposed government sent the secret services after the largest opposition party," he said.

He noted that Sulyok, a lawyer, "so sensitive to the constitution and the rule of law, never once managed to stop unconstitutional legislation or even minimally resist legal arbitrariness."

"How can he embody the unity of this beautiful nation after so much cowardice, lies and turning a blind eye so many times? In my opinion, not at all. It's time to leave, with head held high, while he still can," Magyar said.

Magyar said reconciliation was needed once the country had moved past confrontation and the pursuit of justice. "That is a hard thing to ask of victims with open, bleeding wounds," he said, adding that many who had trusted the institutions had received only silence and were betrayed by them.

"Forgiveness is not forgetting: true reconciliation cannot arise from unspoken pain, silenced sins, and unprocessed, unhealed wounds. A new era cannot be ushered in without facing the past," he said.

"We must say out loud that what happened to many of our compatriots is unacceptable," he said.

He apologised to the victims of abuse at the Bicske children's home and a young offenders' institution in Budapest's Szolo Street, noting that "the children are still suffering today and the adults still carry the scars of abuse and neglect which the Hungarian state failed to prevent."

He said the victims were "not alone", and Hungary "will no longer look the other way". The state, he stressed, had a duty to protect the children in its care, adding that this was a duty that allowed no delay, excuses or political evasion.

Magyar also apologised to all those who, over the past decades, had experienced "a state that did not protect or respect its citizens equally".

He apologised for "the missed opportunities of previous decades, for the humiliations inflicted by former pro-government politicians, for the reproduction of social exclusion, and for the fact that too many children in Hungary grew up with fewer opportunities in life simply because they were born elsewhere or into a different kind of family."

He apologised to the civilians, teachers, journalists, health-care workers, and public figures "who were stigmatised, vilified, or treated as enemies simply because they dared to speak out, dared to stand up for the disadvantaged, voiced criticism, or simply held a different opinion."

He said the homeland was not a privilege but a shared home where the state must treat everyone with equal respect, dignity and responsibility.

Magyar said everyone in the country mattered, and everyone had a right to feel that the state was working for them as well.

The prime minister said the gravest sin of the past years had been "turning Hungarians against each other". "By cynically stoking fear, this politics has poisoned the soul of an entire nation," he said.

That era ended for good on April 12, he said, calling for the "enormous task of reuniting the nation to begin now".

He said national reconciliation depended not on a single law, speech or election victory, but on whether Hungarians would be capable of trusting each other again.

Magyar asked Hungarians to keep a close watch on politicians, "hold them to their promises and engage in debate with them". He pledged "to rebuild the state, restore trust, fix public services, ensure fair competition, strengthen national unity and renew hope step by step and brick by brick."

He vowed to strengthen child protection and to make it clear that keeping children safe was one of the state's most important responsibilities.

He said Tisza's vision was a Hungary that would welcome Hungarians who had moved abroad, where work provided a dignified living, wages could catch up with European levels, the tax system was fairer and more predictable and where families benefited from economic growth.

He pledged to build a Hungary where public funds served the public again, and where political connections, party loyalty, or personal ties would not allow anyone to claim what belonged to all Hungarians.

"We will build a Hungary that regains respect in Europe and the world, and no longer drifts from its chosen alliances by bowing to foreign interests," he said.

Hungary's place is in Europe, the prime minister said, adding that the government would work to build a strong, respected Hungary that firmly upheld its own interests.

Magyar said the government would restore national self-determination, rebuild international credibility, repair alliance relations and reclaim EU funds rightfully owed to Hungarians and Hungarian businesses.

"We will build a functional, humane country," he said

Magyar said Hungary would become functional because the state would fulfil its duty to heal, educate, defend, provide security and create opportunity, while accounting faithfully for the assets entrusted to it. The government would be humane, he added, "because it will never forget the human lives behind every decision."

He urged lawmakers to "understand the message of the election as well as its historic weight", underscoring the responsibility of having a supermajority.

Magyar said the government would launch a comprehensive review of Hungary's constitutional system to prevent the kind of power concentration seen in the past, strengthen checks and balances, restore institutional independence and limit the number of terms a prime minister can serve, "because in a democracy, power must always operate within limits".

Addressing his own party, Magyar asked Tisza MPs to enter parliament each day in a way that would make their past selves proud.

To Fidesz MPs, he offered mutual respect as a starting point for cooperation, but said Fidesz MP Peter Agh's seat had involved "political machinations unworthy of Hungarian democracy, which must be permanently removed from public life".

 "You cannot build a state based on the rule of law and democracy on manipulative, petty, illegal electoral methods," he said, citing the case of Tisza MP Viktoria Strompova as a cautionary tale of exclusionary politics.

To the opposition, Magyar said their votes on declassifying secret service files, uncovering the fate of public assets, and establishing the National Asset Recovery Office would carry historic weight.

He urged Fidesz MPs to be tough critics when the government erred, but also partners in building a clean, transparent Hungary for all. "The opposition can show that defeat need not breed more hatred, that it can give rise to responsible, constitutional, patriotic opposition," he said.

Closing his speech, Magyar invoked the first freely elected post-transition parliament in 1990 and the words of Bela Varga, a Smallholders' Party politician: "It is sometimes harder to be free than to be a prisoner." He said these words were as relevant today as they had been in 1990.

"Freedom is a heavy responsibility. It is up to us how we use the freedom the Hungarian people have now entrusted to us," the prime minister said.

Magyar: 'We will represent all Hungarians'

Prime Minister Peter Magyar pledged in a speech on Saturday to represent all Hungarians as the head of government.

"We don't want to and won't govern without all of you," Magyar told the crowds gathered in Budapest's Kossuth Square after the inaugural session of parliament. "We will represent all Hungarians, but we need your support for this," he said in his speech at the "regime-change" celebration.

He urged Hungarians to keep setting up grassroots movements, organising local communities and keep getting to know each other.

"This wonderful country is not a country of hate, fear or hopelessness," he said. "Hungary is a country of talented, free, brave and honest people."

Addressing the people he met over the last two years when visiting over 700 settlements across the country, Magyar said: "I will never, ever forget what you've taught me about Hungary ... you changed not just the country, but me as well."

He said one of the most critical tasks in the years ahead would be "relearning how to see each other as a community". He urged his supporters to reach out to fellow citizens who now felt disappointed, afraid or as if they had lost something.

"Together, we will rebuild Hungary, because there is no left or right; only Hungarians," Magyar said. 

Magyar apologises to abuse victims at Bicske children's home, Szolo Street institution

Peter Magyar, Hungary's newly-elected prime minister, apologised on Saturday to the victims of abuse at the Bicske children's home and a young offenders' institution in Budapest's Szolo Street.

In his inaugural address to parliament after taking his oath of office, the prime minister said what had happened to "many of our compatriots is unacceptable".

He apologised to both "the children still suffering today and the adults still carrying the scars of abuse and neglect which the Hungarian state failed to prevent".

He said the victims were "not alone", and Hungary "will no longer look the other way from now on". The state, he stressed, had a duty to protect the children in its care, adding that this duty a duty that allowed no delay, excuses or political evasion.

Magyar also apologised to all those who, over the past decades, had experienced "a state that did not protect or respect its citizens equally".

Magyar pledges to build 'functional, humane country'

"We will build a functional, humane country," Prime Minister Peter Magyar told the inaugural parliamentary session on Saturday.

In his speech after taking the oath of office, Magyar said Hungary would become functional because the state would fulfil its duty to heal, educate, defend, provide security, and create opportunity, while accounting faithfully for the assets entrusted to it.

The government would be humane, he added, "because it will never forget the human lives behind every decision."

He pledged to build a Hungary where public funds serve the public again, and where political connections, party loyalty, or personal ties will not let anyone claim what belongs to all Hungarians.

"We will build a Hungary that regains respect in Europe and the world, and no longer drifts from its chosen alliances by bowing to foreign interests," he said.

Hungary’s place is in Europe, the prime minister said, adding that the government would work to build a strong, respected Hungary that firmly upholds its own interests.

Magyar: 'Today is fulfilment of the shared belief that Hungary can get on its feet again'

"Today marks the culmination of a long journey we have taken together and of our shared belief that Hungary is capable of getting back on its feet, regaining faith in itself, and once again becoming a common homeland for all Hungarians," Prime Minister Peter Magyar told the crowd celebrating on Kossuth Square on Saturday, following his inauguration at the first session of parliament.

At the event, billed as a national celebration marking the transition to democracy, Magyar spoke about how the Parliament building, "which has been for years a symbol of oppression, the arrogance of power and exclusion, is now yours. You have taken it back, and your representatives sit there once again -- the representatives of all Hungarians."

"This story was not written in party headquarters or by propaganda machines. You wrote it with your work, love of country, hope, concern, determination and cheerfulness. This is now your regime change, your homeland, your National Assembly," said Magyar, thanking the people for this.

He added that every continent on Earth was watching "the miracle that the Hungarian people have accomplished" with "amazement and envy".

"Today, every freedom-loving person in the world would like a little to be Hungarian."

"For years, the powers-that-be had sought to teach the Hungarian people that miracles do not exist, that war is peace, that freedom is slavery, that ignorance is strength, and that anyone who thinks differently is less Hungarian, less valuable, and less a part of the nation," he said.

 "But they taught the country and the wider world exactly the opposite: that the most evil tyranny is defeated by the most ordinary people; that what is needed against the machinery of power is not another machinery of power, but flesh-and-blood people who, going from mailbox to mailbox, house to house, in winter, in the freezing rain, rain, are willing to do anything for their country, their neighbors, their relatives, and their community," he said.

Magyar pledged to represent all Hungarians as the head of government.

"We don't want to and won't govern without all of you," Magyar said. "We will represent all Hungarians, but we need your support for this," he said, urging Hungarians to keep setting up grassroots movements, organising local communities and keep getting to know each other.

"This wonderful country is not a country of hate, fear or hopelessness," he said. "Hungary is a country of talented, free, brave and honest people."

Addressing the people he met over the last two years when visiting over 700 settlements across the country, Magyar said: "I will never, ever forget what you've taught me about Hungary ... you changed not just the country, but me as well."

He said one of the most critical tasks in the years ahead would be "relearning how to see each other as a community". He urged his supporters to reach out to fellow citizens who now felt disappointed, afraid or as if they had lost something.

"Together, we will rebuild Hungary, because there is no left or right; only Hungarians," Magyar said.

He also asked Hungarians to reach out to those in need, who are lonely or have lost their faith. "A country’s true strength is not measured by the number of parliamentary seats won by the victors, but by how we treat the most vulnerable people."

"The real work is just beginning; now is the time to build communities, to debate, to help one another, and to show that politics can be a decent, humane, courageous, honest, beautiful, and useful endeavor."

Magyar concluded his speech by asking those present to take this day with them as a memory, then thanked the community for their work, for all the kindness, encouragement, kind words, and love they had received.

"I ask that you hug one another, that you sing and laugh, because a very, very long and often rocky road has led us here, but today we are finally free to rejoice, and we have reason to rejoice! So let us rejoice, and let there finally be dancing," he said.

Military parade, flag-raising ceremony held in Kossuth Square

A "regime change" public celebration took over Kossuth Square in Budapest, featuring a military parade and a solemn raising of the Hungarian flag after parliament's inaugural session on Saturday.

According to MTI's correspondents, by 4pm the square was packed to capacity, with crowds spilling into surrounding streets. The Kossuth Square metro station was temporarily closed, and exits took nearly an hour as escalators operated one-way only.

The crowd, waving flags, joined MPs in singing the Szekler Anthem, The Szozat (Appeal) and the Ode to Joy.

As Prime Minister Peter Magyar emerged from Parliament with his sons, he was greeted with cheers, accompanied by Elemer Balazs Jr. on piano.

Performances by singers Adrien Szekeres, Mate Takacs, Bence Fleischer and Hajnalka Hety included the patriotic song "You Are Beautiful, Hungary".

The military parade and flag-raising ceremony followed, featuring the Hungarian Armed Forces' 32nd Guard Regiment, the Count Ferenc Nadasdy Hussar Squadron, the National Equestrian Ceremonial Unit and the Central Military Band of the Armed Forces of Hungary.

Prior to Magyar's speech, singer Ibolya Olah performed her song "Hungary".

Von der Leyen, Costa congratulate Magyar

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, congratulated Peter Magyar on his election as prime minister on Saturday.

"This Europe Day, our hearts are in Budapest," von der Leyen said on x.

"The hope and promise of renewal is a powerful signal in these challenging times. We have important work ahead of us. For Hungary and for Europe, we are moving forward together," she said.

Marking Europe Day, von der Leyen said: "Today, we celebrate what brings us together, what makes us uniquely European. It's our capacity to both treasure our differences and find strength in unity. It's our unconditional love for our values: democracy, freedom and equality."

European Council President Antonio Costa also welcomed Magyar's election, calling it the start of a new chapter in Hungary's history.

"I wish Peter Magyar and Hungary all the best!" Costa told reporters, marking the 81st anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe on May 9.

Asked about cooperation, Costa said he stood ready to work with the new Hungarian government.

Europe, he added, was founded on sovereignty, as well as the diversity of its people and nations, and respects the freedom of choice. "This is the strength of democracy."

US charge d'affairs: US committed to cooperating with new govt

"The United States aims to work with Hungary's new government to advance global security, national sovereignty, civilisational values, and mutual prosperity," Caroline Savage, the US charge d'affairs in Hungary, said on the US embassy's Facebook page on Saturday.

"On behalf of the United States, I joined fellow diplomats at Parliament today to witness the inaugural session of Hungary's new government and the swearing in of Prime Minister Peter Magyar," Savage said.

Zelensky congratulates Magyar

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Prime Minister Peter Magyar on starting work as Hungary's head of government.

"I congratulate Peter Magyar on his appointment and the beginning of his tenure as Prime Minister of Hungary," Zelensky said on X.

"It is symbolic that this inauguration is taking place on Europe Day. Ukraine is ready to deepen cooperation with Hungary and build strong relations between our countries based on good neighborliness and respect for our people. Together, we can bring greater strength to our nations and make all of Europe stronger. I wish you success and good results in office," he concluded.

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

*********************************************************************************************

You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: 

Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoop’s groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters

Showcase Your Business to Expats in the Loop:

As an independent portal we’re grateful to all commercial supporters who help keep you in the loop with fresh insights and inspiration. Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? If so please contact us here.