Key events
Morning opening: Magyar meets with president and goes on state media as he plans break with Orbán era
Jakub Krupa
Election winner Péter Magyar has confirmed work is under way to form the new Hungarian government by mid-May after holding talks with the country’s president, Tamás Sulyok, a loyalist of the outgoing prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
The two leaders discussed the timetable for new parliament, which can be formed not before 4 May when the results of the Sunday’s vote need to be certified by, with Magyar saying he expected the new government to be in place by mid-May.
He added that he expected to hold further informal talks with the European Commission on the new administration’s plans to restore the rule of law in the coming weeks in a bid to accelerate the process of accessing billions of euros in funds frozen after Orbán’s repeated clashes with Brussels.
Magyar also doubled down on his suggestions that Sulyok should resign from the office as part of a broader overhaul of state institutions.
In a sign of domestic tensions to come as part of the transition, the Tisza leader suggested that the president, who is elected by parliament and plays a largely ceremonial role, should step down or face the prospect of being removed from the office by the new majority.
In a post on X after the meeting, he said:
“[Sulyok] is unworthy of representing the unity of the Hungarian nation. He is unfit to serve as the guardian of legality. He is not fit to serve as a moral authority or a role model.”
Earlier today, Magyar also appeared on the state broadcaster, broadly seen as a propaganda mouthpiece for the outgoing regime, confirming plans to suspend its news operations as one of the first tasks of the new government.
He repeated his plans to put a structure in place that would ensure unbiased coverage after years of what he said was pro-government propaganda.
In a highly symbolic moment, it was his first visit to the studios of Kossuth Rádió and M1 TV in 18 months, with Magyar saying it was ironic that he needed to win a election to be invited by the public broadcaster.
It’s Wednesday, 15 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.