Life after Viktor Orbán: Hungary's new leader takes on the authoritarian state - BERITAJA

He's ousted the man who ruled for 16 years. Now Hungary's caller premier curate faces a daunting task: taking connected the authoritarian state built by Viktor Orbán.

No sooner had Peter Magyar vanished posing pinch the country’s smiling president this week, he called the Orbán-aligned figurehead unworthy, unfit and demanded his resignation.

Magyar, 45, besides posted a video of the meeting, successful which he spotted Orbán himself connected a adjacent balcony. "Absolute cinema," Magyar said, raising his hands to bespeak the celebrated meme.

Next stop? A information of interviews connected the country's Orbán-mouthpiece authorities media successful which he called them a "factory of lies" and said they would beryllium suspended until their independency could beryllium guaranteed.

These swift moves from Magyar bespeak his committedness to expanse distant the corruption, cronyism and Kremlin allyship that European officials and watchdogs say plagued Orbán's Hungary.

Whether he could do truthful is simply a important unfastened question, not conscionable for the state itself, but besides for Europe and beyond. Though Magyar is nary liberal, immoderate are now looking to his triumph arsenic an illustration of really to conclusion an entrenched far-right leader who has the support of an progressively powerful world movement.

Unpicking the heavy roots of the Orbánist authorities will not beryllium simple. Magyar will beryllium helped by past weekend's landslide triumph that gave him a supermajority, 137 of the National Assembly's 199 seats.

Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar waves a Hungarian emblem aft delivering his triumph reside successful Budapest connected Sunday.Neil Milton / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

That "will make it importantly easier," said Stefania Kapronczay, 1 of Hungary's apical quality authorities experts during the Orbán years. "Not galore group believed he could really execute that."

Under Hungary's Fundamental Law, changes to the constitution require two-thirds of lawmakers to ballot for it; Magyar now has the aforesaid devices to unpick the authorities arsenic Orbán utilized to conception it.

During 5 consecutive administrations, Orbán's authorities changed the constitution and passed hundreds of laws to style authorities successful his "illiberal" image. He constricted the independency of the judiciary and the media, and stuffed supposedly nonpolitical authorities positions pinch his allies.

One illustration highlighted by the European Commission was the assignment of a charismatic wide past June — for a nine-year term.

"The hierarchical structure" of the prosecutor's office, together "with the deficiency of soul checks and balances" creates the consequence that elder prosecutors could "influence the activity of subordinate prosecutors, including successful individual cases," its study past twelvemonth said.

While the E.U. condemned it, Orbánism was lauded by President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, which openly praised the Hungarian leader arsenic an illustration of what conservatives could achieve.

Orban was a adjacent state of the White House and the Kremlin.Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance jetted to Hungary successful an eleventh-hour effort to support his poll-flagging state successful power. The travel moreover included a sound telephone from Trump himself, successful which he called Orbán a "fantastic man."

After Orbán was defeated, however, Trump sought to region himself. He called Magyar a "good man" who is "going to do a bully job."

Some wrong the Orbánist authorities will invited the caller leader's reforms.

For years, galore Hungarian journalists have, privately astatine least, expressed exasperation pinch the authorities controls connected their work.

With Orbán going, 90 of these journalists pinch the MTI authorities news agency broke screen Thursday and wrote a letter, seen by Reuters, demanding that their editorial independency beryllium reinstated.

It's not only successful Magyar's stated governmental interests to undo the regime, but it's besides successful the interests of Hungary's economy.

The E.U. has stiff about 17 cardinal euros (around $20 billion) of backing for Hungary because of concerns about antiauthoritarian backsliding and the norm of law.

European President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday she had spoken pinch Magyar and said "swift work" needed to beryllium done.

Their "immediate priorities," she wrote connected X, were to "restore the norm of law. Realign pinch our shared European values. And reform, to unlock the opportunities offered by ​European investments."

A tag sounds 'Liar Fidesz' complete a poster of Fidesz leader Viktor Orban, astatine a autobus extremity successful Budapest connected Monday.Ferenc Isza / AFP via Getty Images

On Friday, European officials were successful Budapest discussing unlocking these funds, arsenic good arsenic a 90 cardinal euro loan to Ukraine that was precocious blocked by Orbán, a adjacent state of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, location is another, possibly moreover bigger, chartless looming complete the nascent Magyar project: If he could dismantle Orbánism, what mightiness he switch it with?

A erstwhile authorities insider, Magyar has staked retired blimpish positions connected migration and societal issues.

"The large mobility is what he does pinch this power," said Kapronczay, erstwhile head of strategy astatine the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.

She likens this infinitesimal to the 1990s, erstwhile Hungary emerged from communism and had the chance to flourish into a wide democracy.

"That grounded successful the 1990s, but we person a existent chance now," she said.