“I will serve my country, not rule over it” – Péter Magyar sworn in as Hungary’s new Prime Minister

After the elected parliamentary representatives took an oath of office, Péter Magyar was elected as Hungary's next Prime Minister with 140 votes in favor and 54 against on Saturday, 9 May. The events inside parliament were followed by thousands on huge screens on the adjacent Kossuth Lajos Square, where the incoming administration invited all Hungarians to come and celebrate the end of the Orbán regime. After Magyar was sworn in, the crowd erupted in loud cheers, while Tisza MPs inside the chamber applauded and cheered. Most Fidesz MPs, now in opposition, did not applaud Magyar’s election.

After taking office, Magyar started his first speech by stating that the recent change in government serves as a warning to every prime minister that power is temporary, while the consequences of our decisions stay with us for generations. “I will serve my country, not rule over it” he said, explaining that he considers the words of József Antall, (Hungary's first democratically elected PM) to have marked the path for this:

“I will serve as long as my service is useful; I will do this to the best of my ability, for as long as I can, and as long as the Hungarian nation needs me to do it.”

Magyar stressed that he is no different than anyone else in the country; and the only reason why he is in the prime minister’s seat now is because millions of Hungarians wanted change. This is an honor, a moral obligation, but also a wonderful feeling, he said: “Working for this country is uplifting. I will endeavour to live up to the example set by predecessors such as Lajos Batthyány, Imre Nagy, and József Antall”.

The importance of confronting the past

The path that Hungary and the Hungarian people have taken over the past two years is unprecedented, he said, and expressed his thanks to everyone. The Hungarian people have given us a mandate to put an end to decades of drifting, to not only change the government but the entire system.

He stressed that systemic change and justice cannot happen without reconciliation, nor without confronting the past. Twenty-two years after Hungary was given the greatest opportunity in its history, it is now a plundered land, he said. He added that they inherited a country where 3 million people are living in poverty and then spoke about the huge budget deficit the outgoing government had created. According to the new prime minister, the country’s healthcare system has been bled dry, and the average life expectancy is five years shorter than the European average.

He also touched on the subject of child protection, noting that vulnerable children had been left to fend for themselves while trillions of forints had disappeared “from foundations, from the Central Bank, due to overpriced and unnecessary investments, and into the pockets of political cronies.” Hungary has become the most corrupt country; according to Magyar, who said that the wealth the previous government “stole from the pockets of Hungarians” is estimated at 20 trillion forints.

“We inherited a country where politics deliberately pitted Hungarians against each other,” he said, describing how the previous government's communication was built on hatred, fear, and incitement.

“We will once again learn to think of ourselves as one nation,”

he vowed.

Fidesz politicians will eventually have to face the consequences of their actions. Péter Magyar said that after coming to terms with the past—and “only after that”—justice must be served. “Justice is one of the fundamental prerequisites for democratic reconstruction,” which means that Hungary cannot build a new future on the foundation of covered-up crimes. Hungary will not longer by a country without consequences.

He talked about how people have lost confidence in the independence of dozens of public institutions, and how the system of checks and balances which is the foundation of democracy had been destroyed. He called on public officials to resign by the end of the day, or by May 31 at the latest, in the interest of Hungary’s democratic renewal. “President Tamás Sulyok should be first,” Magyar declared, before spending several minutes listing the times the President, whose office represents all Hungarians, chose to remain silent since taking office, while the camera showed Sulyok’s face as he squirmed in this utterly humiliating situation. Among others, he reproached Sulyok for not speaking out when Viktor Orbán called Hungarian citizens “bugs,” for failing to stand up for victims of child abuse, and for not opposing the previous government’s unconstitutional decisions and legal arbitrariness. “Mr. President, it is time for you to leave.”

Apologies

The new Prime Minister apologized to everyone who felt that the state had not treated all of its citizens equally in the past years. He specifically offered his apologies to activists of NGOs, teachers, journalists, healthcare workers, and public figures whom the previous administrations have stigmatized or vilified for speaking out or for having a different opinion. Fidesz did not applaud a single apology.

Magyar also apologized to the victims who were abused at the Bicske children’s home and Szőlő Street, and to all those who have suffered under the Hungarian child protection system, because the Hungarian state had failed to offer them an apology. He spoke about how in recent years stigmatization and hatred have torn families apart; how “children grew up surrounded by constant political hate campaigns, and how the elderly lived in fear of the future and of the prospect of war.

By cynically playing into artificially generated fear, politics has poisoned the collective psyche of an entire nation. The Hungarian state must never again do this to its own citizens. On April 12, this era came to an end once and for all”,

he said.

The new government’s priorities

He pointed out that Hungarians have a right to know how public funds were turned into private fortunes, a feudal system, privileges, and political pressuring. That is why one of the first bills to be submitted in the new Parliament will be the law establishing the Office for the Recovery and Protection of National Assets. This announcement was met with loud applause from the Tisza MPs and the crowd following the speech outside the building, while Fidesz and Mi Hazánk MPs did not applaud.

The new institution’s task will be to uncover the abuses of the past 20 years, Magyar said. It will investigate corruption cases, including the MNB case, the overpriced public procurements, private equity funds, and any transaction where there’s a suspicion of misappropriation of public assets, embezzlement, money laundering, or budgetary fraud. The office will not be controlled by the government but will operate as an autonomous entity. Magyar promised independence, professionalism, and transparency.

He urged voters to “watch, and hold their politicians accountable. Let us learn together from the mistakes of the past; do not leave politicians to their own devices in politics!” He urged citizens to keep an eye on their politicians, to criticize them, to not allow anyone to abuse the mandate that society has entrusted this Parliament with.

We will work for every single Hungarian, the Tisza government will be the government of all Hungarians. Addressing the large diaspora as well, he promised to build a country that will welcome back Hungarians who have moved abroad. He said that the Tisza government will work to ensure that jobs here provide a decent livelihood thanks to a fairer taxing system.

"We will build a Hungary where public funds are once again public funds, we will rebuild Hungary’s relationships and bring EU funds back home.” He also said the new government would strengthen the system of checks and balances; and propose limiting the number of terms a prime minister can serve.

“Freedom is not a noun, but a verb”

In closing, he again referenced the huge movement that came together in the country in the past two years: “Hungarians have decided to teach the world that freedom is not a noun, but a verb—an uplifting deed that nothing can stand in the way of. For this, we owe gratitude to each and every Hungarian”.

He said that now, it is up to them, the elected leaders to use it to build a more humane country. If they are successful, then in a few years they will be able to say that they not only changed the government, but also made Hungary a better place.

“God bless Hungary, and God bless every Hungarian here, at home and all over the world.”

After singing the national anthem, members of the Tisza faction walked out to the crowd gathered on Kossuth Lajos Square, where Magyar gave a second speech followed by a short cultural program.

He addressed those gathered in front of Parliament in a very different tone, placing the emphasis on celebration. He stressed that the most important task in the coming years will be for Hungarians to once again learn to see themselves as one community. He asked everyone to reach out to those who are now disappointed, afraid, and experiencing this period as a loss. He said: do not seek to humiliate them; instead, listen to them and talk to them, because this is their country too, and their contribution is also needed to rebuild it.

According to the new Prime Minister, the story we are seeing today was not written by the new members of Parliament, nor was it crafted by behind-the-scenes strategists or propagandists; rather, “it was all of you. You wrote it, through your work, your hope, your concern, and your determination. This is now your transition to democracy, this is your homeland, your National Assembly, and we thank you!"

According to Magyar, for years Hungarians were told that war is peace, ignorance is strength, and anyone who thinks differently is less Hungarian and less valuable. However, the Orbán regime failed to convince them and the most evil tyranny was defeated by ordinary, flesh-and-blood people, because they represent the greatest strength. “History books will write about light overcoming darkness,” he said. He also spoke about how

a country’s true strength isn’t measured by the number of seats the winning party holds in parliament, but by how it treats its most vulnerable.”

At the end of his speech, he asked everyone to hold on to something from this day: the joy, the openness, the love, because in the coming years, these are the things Hungary will need the most. “Take this day with you as a memory; remember this day for the rest of your lives. Remember what Hungary looked like on this day. Perhaps you will show your children and grandchildren that this was what the first day of a free, democratic Hungary looked like,” he said in conclusion and wished everyone a wonderful, peaceful, and joyous time celebrating.