“Pro-European leader of the center-right Peter Magyar was sworn in as Prime Minister of Hungarywhich means the official end of 16 years of Viktor Orban's rule” – noted the British daily “The Guardian” on Saturday.
Describing the event, he points out that Saturday's ceremony – where Magyar invited people to join him in a “write the history of Hungary” and “cross the gate of regime change” — took place a month after his opposition Tisza party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections.
Peter Magyar's swearing-in in the Hungarian Parliament
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PAP/EPA / PAP
The Guardian points out that early on Saturday morning, people began to gather in the square in front of the neo-Gothic parliament to watch the broadcast of the inaugural session on large screens. Each time Magyar appeared, the crowd cheered and some booed MPs from Fidesz and the far-right Our Homeland party.
Interestingly, the newly elected president of the chamber, Agnes Forsthoffer, announced that the EU flag would return to the building after it was removed by Fidesz in 2014.
Supporters of the new government in front of the parliament building
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PAP/EPA / PAP
The end of the era of Viktor Orban
“The creation of a new parliament means that for the first time since the country's democratization in 1990, Orban, whose decades-long career has gone from pro-democracy to Russia-friendly figure praised by the American MAGA movement, will not take a seat in parliament. Late last month, Orban, 62, said he would instead focus on reorganizing his right-wing populist-nationalist movement,” writes the British daily.
Magyar, 45, said he would use his majority to destroy the systems built by Orban, who has filled the country's judicial system, media and state with his supporters.
