Politics
Things to know about Péter Magyar, Hungary's new Prime Minister
In a stunning turn of events, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lost his bid for a fifth consecutive term on Sunday, as voters turned out in numbers not seen since the fall of communism in the 1990s.
Driven largely by concerns over entrenched government corruption, voters overwhelmingly chose Péter Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer and politician who, until a few years ago, was a staunch Orbán loyalist. Magyar emerged as an opposition leader in 2024, quickly rising to lead the center-right Tisza Party, which won a two-thirds majority in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Orbán, who has led Hungary for 16 years, conceded and congratulated Magyar less than three hours after polls closed.
In a victory speech delivered to a sea of jubilant supporters on the banks of the Danube River, Magyar reiterated his promises to rebuild Hungary’s ties with the European Union and NATO, root out corruption and cronyism, and “restore the system of checks and balances.” The country has a strong economic incentive to do so: since 2022, the EU has frozen billions of dollars in funding for Hungary, citing Orbán’s violation of key democratic values. Magyar declared that Hungary will “never again allow anyone to hold free Hungary captive or to abandon it.”
“Today we won because the Hungarian people didn’t ask what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country,” he said, evoking John F. Kennedy, as some spectators chanted “Europe, Europe.”
Ábel Bojár, research director at the polling platform Europion, called Magyar’s landslide victory “truly unprecedented.” Bojár told NPR: “If you think about the political headwinds that Magyar had to sail against — the funding asymmetry between his party and Orbán’s state apparatus, media access, the novelty of the party — he built up a whole machine with extreme professionalism in two years. And the list goes on.”
Magyar has made many promises to redemocratize the country, and his party now holds the parliamentary majority needed to make constitutional changes to that end. But Bojár noted that critics — and even cautious observers — question whether he will follow through. “I’m not in a position right now to give you a yes or no answer, but it’s certainly a political risk that he will abuse this opportunity,” he added.
On Monday, Magyar called on Hungary’s president to convene parliament to form a new government as early as May 5. Here are five things to know about Magyar as he prepares to take the helm.
1. A scandal fueled his rise
Magyar began his career as a judge and lawyer, but for much of his professional life, he was half of a now-fractured political power couple.
He and his then-wife, Judit Varga, spent years living in Brussels with their children, where she worked as a policy adviser to Hungarian members of the European Parliament and he served as a diplomat. A 2025 Politico ranking described Magyar as a "key but discreet insider" during that period.
In 2019, Varga was appointed Hungary's minister of justice under Orbán. Back in Hungary, Magyar held roles including head of the state-owned Student Loan Centre and director of the legal department at the Hungarian Development Bank. The couple divorced in 2023.
For years, Magyar had been a loyal Orbán supporter. He has said that as a child in Budapest, he kept a poster of Orbán — then a liberal anti-communist — on his bedroom wall, and that he joined Orbán's Fidesz party in college.
But things changed in early 2024, when Fidesz was rocked by a scandal. Hungary's then-president, Katalin Novák, pardoned a former official convicted of covering up the abuse of underage boys at a state-run children's home. The incident had widespread repercussions for a party that had campaigned in part on protecting family values. Following public outrage, Novák resigned — as did Varga, who had signed the pardon in her role as justice minister.
Seizing on his insider's perspective, Magyar began publicly criticizing Orbán's government. In a viral 2024 video interview with the Hungarian outlet Partizán, he accused the government not only of corruption but also of scapegoating female leaders like his ex-wife, saying he did not want to be part of a system where the "real culprits hide behind women's skirts."
Magyar's message resonated — generating millions of video views and drawing large crowds to rallies he organized that spring as he launched a new political movement.
Rather than spend time registering a party from scratch just months before the June 2024 European Parliament election, he revived the dormant Tisza Party (whose full name translates to the Respect and Freedom Party). It went on to win 30% of the vote, and Magyar became a member of the European Parliament.
2. He has weathered controversies
Magyar has blamed the end of his marriage to Varga, at least in part, on political disagreements. Notably, just months before their divorce was finalized in 2023, he secretly recorded a conversation between them.
In the recording, Varga discussed an attempt by government aides to interfere in a corruption case. Magyar released the tape the following year, in the wake of the pardon scandal, further fueling public outrage and lending credence to his corruption claims.
The Hungarian prosecutor's office ultimately found no evidence to warrant further investigation. But the outcry — over both the recording and the pardon incident — prompted Varga to withdraw from public life entirely in 2024.
Varga has accused Magyar of verbal and physical abuse, including once locking her in a room, and described his secret recording as an act of "betrayal."
Magyar has denied the allegations, dismissing them as "propaganda" from Orbán's government aimed at discrediting his nascent political career.
He similarly accused the government of trying to undermine his campaign with what he called a "honey trap" operation. In February, he filed a police report after photos of a bedroom circulated online, hinting at the existence of a sex tape. Magyar said the images stemmed from a 2024 incident in which a then-girlfriend lured him to a Budapest apartment after a party and secretly recorded their consensual encounter using illegal "secret service means."
"The authorities must also investigate who ordered the crimes. I will help: they should be searching the government headquarters," he said. It is unclear whether any investigation took place; no video was ultimately released.
3. His family name is a recognizable one
Magyar comes from a family of prominent conservatives in Hungary, according to Euronews. His grandfather was the well-known lawyer and TV personality Pál Er?ss, and his godfather, Ferenc Mádl, was the president of Hungary from 2000 to 2005.
Even his surname is fit for politics: "Magyar" translates to "Hungarian" in English.
"'Péter Magyar' is an almost too-perfect Hungarian name. It'd be like a guy named 'Johnny America' running for President of the United States," historian Aaron Astor posted on X on Sunday.
4. He has been vague on some hot-button issues
While Magyar campaigned largely on fighting corruption, restoring democratic norms, and reviving Hungary's economy, his stance on other divisive issues remains less clear.
He largely avoided discussing LGBTQ+ rights on the campaign trail. Homosexuality is legal in Hungary, though the government banned Pride events last year. At the time, Magyar criticized the decision as a distraction from more pressing issues facing citizens and said his government would protect the right to assembly — but he stopped short of an explicit statement in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
Magyar has also been relatively quiet about Ukraine, in contrast to the Kremlin-friendly Orbán. On Monday, after his election, Magyar said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to call, he would pick up and tell him to end the war in Ukraine.
"It would probably be a short phone conversation, and I don't think he would end the war on my advice," he said, according to The Associated Press.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Magyar and his party on their win, writing on social media that "it is important when a constructive approach prevails."
"We are ready for meetings and joint constructive work for the benefit of both nations, as well as peace, security and stability in Europe," Zelenskyy added.
5. Western leaders welcome him — with one exception
European politicians have celebrated Magyar's victory, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called a "victory for fundamental freedoms."
Congratulatory messages have also poured in from the leaders of France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Slovenia, Germany and others.
In the U.S., lawmakers from both major political parties welcomed Magyar's win.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., interpreted it as Hungary's rejection of Putin. Some Democrats went even further, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warning that this fall's midterm elections could similarly spell trouble for President Trump.
"Pay attention, Donald Trump. Wannabe dictators wear out their welcome," Schumer posted on X. "November 2026 can't come soon enough."
Trump has not weighed in on Magyar's win, despite his vocal endorsements of Orbán ahead of the election. Vice President Vance spoke at a rally for Orbán in Budapest last week, as the prime minister appeared to lag in the polls.
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