Hungary’s incoming prime minister plans a ‘regime-change celebration’ to mark Orbán’s departure

As new prime minister Péter Magyar takes his oath of office in the halls of Hungary’s sprawling neo-Gothic parliament on Saturday, thousands of people are expected to gather in a square just outside to celebrate the final moments of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule.

Magyar’s center-right Tisza party defeated Orbán’s nationalist-populist Fidesz in a landslide victory last month, winning more votes and seats in parliament than any other party in Hungary’s post-communist history.

It was a seismic mandate that would allow Tisza to roll back many of the policies that earned Orbán a reputation as a far-right authoritarian among many of his critics, and to delve deeper into the economic system that has led to many of his allies and family members becoming fabulously wealthy.

But before his mandate begins, Magyar called on Hungarians to hold an all-day “regime change” celebration on Saturday to mark his inauguration and the end of the Orbán era.

“We will enter the door of regime change with a big party. Come, invite your family and friends!” Magyar wrote in a social media post on Sunday.

Magyar’s priorities

Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer who founded Tisza in 2024 after working for years as an insider in Orbán’s party, has vowed to stamp out official corruption that he claims deprives Hungarians of economic opportunities.

One of his top priorities is the release of about 17 billion euros ($20 billion) of European Union funds for Hungary, which were frozen during Orbán’s time in office over rule of law and corruption concerns. The money is desperately needed to revive Hungary’s struggling economy, which has been in recession for the past four years.

Magyar also vowed to repair his country’s ties with its EU partners, which Orbán had brought to the breaking point, and to restore Hungary’s place among Western democracies, which has been called into question as Orbán draws closer to Russia.

As a sign of this determination, Tisza officials said that they will once again fly the EU flag on the facade of the parliament building from Saturday, after the Orbán government removed it in 2014.

Despite the enthusiasm for the end of Orbán’s reign, most of the nearly 3.4 million Hungarians who voted for Tisza expect Magyar to hold Fidesz officials and their associates accountable for the outgoing administration’s perceived misconduct.

Magyar plans to create the Office for the Recovery and Protection of National Assets, an authority tasked with investigating and recovering public funds misappropriated during Orbán’s tenure. He also vowed to suspend the news services of Hungary’s public broadcaster, widely seen as the mouthpiece of Orbán’s party, until impartiality is restored.

Tisza is also expected to carry out a major overhaul of much of Hungary’s government structure, creating separate ministries of health, environmental protection and education that did not exist under Orbán.

Magyar said he would reauthorize the Hungarian government and appointed several officials who are internationally recognized in their fields to cabinet positions.

The incoming leader nominated diplomat and foreign policy expert Anita Orbán, who is unrelated to the outgoing prime minister, to be foreign minister, former Shell executive István Kapitány to be economy and energy minister, and economist András Kármán to be finance minister.

‘Farewell to the system’

Magyar will take the oath of office at around 3pm local time on Saturday and then address the crowd outside. The invitation to the event promised artistic performances and surprise guests.

Gergely Karácsony, the liberal mayor of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, also announced a “system shutdown” party along the Danube. Karácsony said the purpose of this was to show his gratitude to Hungarians who have spoken out against Orbán’s system for years.

“Teachers were fired, civilians and journalists were humiliated, small churches were torn apart,” Karácsony wrote in a social media post. “We can finally put this period behind us – but first, let’s remember the ordinary heroes and say goodbye to the system and give thanks.”