In Hungary, a difficult time begins to eradicate Orbán’s legacy

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbánin the end of the reign after 16 years may finally mean that Putin’s Russia will lose its most loyal supporter in the EU.

The European Commission has already started “immediate contact” with the election winner Péter Magyarin with after his landslide victory in the Hungarian elections on Sunday.

The Commission’s intention is clear. Hungary is asked to mend relations with Ukraine and start the long-requested reforms in Hungary, the implementation of which would unlock 35 billion euros of frozen EU funds for the country.

The amount includes almost 18 billion euros from the EU budget, which has been suspended due to violations of the rule of law, increased corruption risks and the weakening of the independence of the courts, as determined by the Commission.

Magyar has a lot of work to do in order for Hungary to return to the European path indicated by the EU.

Although Magyar’s Tisza party gets a majority in the parliament – ​​more than two-thirds of the seats – the authoritarian system built by Viktor Orbán over the years is really deep in the country’s structures.

Despite the qualified majority, the change may not be successful in one election term. For example, the country’s judiciary and state media were harnessed to promote Orbán’s goals.

Reforming the country’s legal system and security services and replacing the leaders of the largest public institutions and state-controlled companies will also be crucial issues for Hungary’s new administration to give air to the country’s democratic development.

How drastic and fast the change will be is still a mystery. Magyar’s victory speech tells something about this, in which he clearly demanded, among other things, the Hungarian Kúria, i.e. the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the President of the Constitutional Court to resign immediately or the new administration will do it.

For Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, Magyar’s election victory does not necessarily guarantee an easier future. For example, MEPs from the Tisza party did not support the 90 billion euros that Ukraine needed support package in the EU Parliament vote (KL 12.4.).

In addition, according to a survey conducted before the elections, only a small majority of Tisza’s voters want a clearly different Ukraine policy than the one Orbán’s government has pursued. It is not yet known if the division will also be seen in the representatives elected to the parliament.

Tisza’s election program is rhetorically pro-EU, but the party opposes Ukraine’s accelerated EU membership, rejects the EU migration agreement and criticizes the Mercosur trade agreement. In these matters, however, the party is not alone in the EU.

However, Magyar’s victory is very important for both Hungary and Europe. At the same time, it can be seen as a slap by the Hungarians to two authoritarian leaders to Vladimir Putin and For Donald Trump.

“Hungary will again be a strong ally in the EU and NATO,” Magyar promised his supporters on Sunday.