Budapest (AFP) – Hungary's lawmakers face a busy summer as Prime Minister Peter Magyar rushes to dismantle the political system built to cement Viktor Orban's hardline 16-year rule.
Issued on: 09/07/2026 - 07:46
4 min Reading time
But some political experts and rights groups have criticised the speed and scale of Magyar's moves to demolish the institutions guarding Orban's self-styled "illiberal" democracy that won praise from US President Donald Trump and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.Since taking office two months ago on May 9 after toppling the longtime nationalist leader in an election landslide, Magyar has unleashed a blitz of measures aimed at rooting out Orban's "mafia" from the Hungarian state.Besides proving popular with the public, the pro-European conservative's push to move on from the Orban era's fractious relationship with Brussels is key to rapidly unlocking 16 billion euros ($18.3 billion) in EU funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns.Magyar's Tisza party commands a comfortable two-thirds majority in parliament and has voted in recent weeks to adopt a sweeping anti-corruption package and dismantle the so-called Sovereignty Protection Office that targeted government critics.
