Péter Magyar, Hungary's incoming prime minister, has vowed to pursue those who "plundered" the country after winning a landmark election that unseats Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party from power. The result marks one of the most significant political shifts in Central Europe in over a decade.
Magyar, a former Orbán insider turned fierce critic, campaigned on an anti-corruption platform that resonated with voters exhausted by years of democratic backsliding and cronyism. According to The Guardian, he pledged to hold accountable those who enriched themselves under the previous government.
NPR highlighted five key things to know about the new leader, including his unexpected transformation from establishment figure to opposition champion. His rise has been compared to political upheavals in other post-communist European states where entrenched leaders were eventually toppled by former allies.
The result has also unsettled some in Washington. The New York Times reported that Trump and MAGA-aligned figures who had embraced Orbán as an ideological ally are now worried about the implications of his defeat. Meanwhile, Politico reported that Hungary is gearing up for a "grand bargain" with the European Union, suggesting Magyar may seek to repair relationships that frayed badly under Orbán's nationalist governance.