Peter Magyar and his Tisza party secured a decisive victory in Hungary's parliamentary elections on April 12, ending Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. The election result has drawn widespread praise from European Union leaders, according to France24 reporting from Brussels.
Magyar, a former Fidesz insider, intends to pivot Hungary away from the pro-Russian policies of the Orban era. He has pledged to weed out corruption and restore relations with the EU, which had grown strained under Orban's leadership.
During a press conference on April 13, Magyar addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine, rejecting calls for Kyiv to cede territory. He stated that Ukraine has the full right to defend itself against Russian aggression and cannot be forced to surrender land.
"If someone says this — no matter how long Fidesz politicians have said similar things — you should ask them what would happen if Russia attacked Hungary: which Hungarian county would they give up?" Magyar said.
He described suggestions of territorial concessions as "outrageous, cynical talk, unworthy of our 1956 heroes and freedom fighters."
Foreign policy and energy
Magyar's victory follows a period where Orban blocked a 90-billion-euro loan for Kyiv and the 20th package of Russian sanctions. While Magyar seeks closer ties with Kyiv, he noted that the "settlement of the rights of the Hungarian minority" in Ukraine remains a precondition for normalizing bilateral relations.
Addressing potential pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a peace deal, Magyar asserted that "no country has the right to tell another to give up territory after a four-year war." He also emphasized the necessity of U.S.-backed security guarantees, warning against repeating the failures of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
On energy, the incoming leader aims to decrease Hungary's reliance on Russian supplies by 2035. However, he acknowledged that the nation's geography remains a constraint.
"Hungary's 'geography cannot be changed,'" Magyar said, adding that maintaining cheap oil and gas for Hungarian citizens and companies remains a top priority. The Tisza party's plan follows an EU goal to end Russian energy imports by 2027.
EU leaders have celebrated the result, viewing Magyar as a necessary departure from Orban, whom many in the 27-nation bloc viewed as a threat to continental peace, France24 reported.
