Péter Magyar, who recently secured a strong election victory and ended Viktor Orban’s long-standing two-thirds parliamentary dominance since 2010, has begun shaping his government’s early foreign and domestic direction through visits to Berlin and Paris, where he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.
In remarks published in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Magyar indicated that despite harsh criticism of Orban during the campaign over corruption allegations, EU policy obstruction, and ties with Russia, his government would not significantly overturn the previous administration’s core policy framework.
On migration, Magyar emphasized a strict and consistent approach, stating: “My government will pursue a very strict and consistent policy on illegal migration.” He further added: “You can criticize Viktor Orban as much as you want, no one criticizes him more than me, but in 2015, when the migration crisis began, he was right.” He argued that several EU member states have since acknowledged that their initial response to the crisis was misguided.
He also confirmed that Hungary will continue refusing to accept illegal migrants, while contributing to the protection of the EU’s external borders, including in countries such as Greece, Malta, and Italy. At the same time, he criticized financial penalties imposed on Hungary for breaches of EU asylum rules, describing the daily fine of one million euros as “unfair and disproportionate,” and said he would seek renegotiation, even though the legal ruling itself cannot be challenged.
