Hungary’s election winner Peter Magyar said on Wednesday (April 15, 2026) his government will suspend state media broadcasts, pass a new media law and ensure press freedom after his cabinet takes power.
“Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth,” Mr. Magyar said on Kossuth state radio, where outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban had been a weekly guest for the past 16 years while opposition politicians rarely got invited.
“We will need a little time to pass a new media law, a new media authority and setting up the professional conditions for state media actually do what it is meant to do,” Mr. Magyar added.
Mr. Magyar’s TISZA (Respect and Freedom) party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, ending Mr. Orban’s 16-year rule.
Critics say public media served as a government mouthpiece under Mr. Orban and accused him of presiding over the undermining of independent media as allies of his Fidesz party took control of private outlets — charges he denied.
