Hungary’s new Cabinet took office on the event date of May 12, 2026, completing the handover to Prime Minister Péter Magyar after his party’s upset victory ended 16 years of rule under Viktor Orbán. The swearing-in of 16 ministers marked the final step in a political transition that Magyar has framed as a break with the habits, institutions and loyalties of the previous era.
The new government’s formation moved quickly. Parliament’s committee hearings lasted only two days, underscoring Magyar’s push to install his team and begin dismantling what he described as a damaged political system. In his remarks after the ministers were sworn in, Magyar said the government would serve all Hungarians rather than the prime minister and pledged to repair what he called division, backwardness and a loss of trust accumulated over two decades.
The scale of the change is notable. Tisza won 141 of the 199 seats in Parliament, giving it a two-thirds majority and making it the largest force in Hungary’s post-Communist political history. Orbán’s Fidesz party fell to 52 seats from 135, while the far-right Mi Hazánk retained six. That result gives Magyar unusual room to reshape ministries, law enforcement priorities and state institutions without needing to bargain for power.
Several of the government’s first signals point to an aggressive anti-corruption agenda. Magyar has said he will establish a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office to investigate and recover public funds that he says were misused under Orbán. He has also pledged to bring Hungary into the European Public Prosecutor’s Office so EU officials can investigate fraud involving bloc money. In parallel, he has threatened to suspend the news services of public broadcaster MTVA until objectivity is restored, reflecting his broader argument that state institutions need to be reset.
The cabinet itself also reflects a structural overhaul. Hungary now has 16 ministries, up from 12 in Orbán’s last administration. The reshuffle includes separate ministries for health, environmental protection and education, areas Magyar says deserve more focused attention after years of underperformance. That change suggests the new government wants to separate core public services from the larger portfolios that had concentrated power under the previous system.
Magyar is also expected to redirect Hungary’s relationship with the European Union. His administration has signaled that it will prioritize unfreezing about 17 billion euros in EU funds held back during Orbán’s tenure over concerns about corruption and rule of law. With the economy having stagnated for four years, those funds are central to the government’s hopes of restarting investment and improving growth.
Foreign policy is likely to change as well. The new foreign minister, diplomat Anita Orbán, said on Monday that her ministry’s main task would be to bring EU funds home and consolidate Hungary’s place in Europe. Magyar has similarly argued that Hungary must restore democratic institutions and the rule of law, while pressing several Orbán-era appointees to step down by May 31, including the president, attorney general, media authority chief and chief justice of the Constitutional Court.
For now, the key political question is whether the new majority can turn its mandate into durable institutional reform. The election delivered Magyar an unusually broad parliamentary base and the promise of a fresh political start. The test begins with whether his government can satisfy voters who want accountability while also stabilizing a country that emerged from the vote still carrying the economic and institutional burdens of the previous era.
