Hungary's Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar has called on President Tamas Sulyok to resign and announced sweeping plans to reform the country's state media, as he moves swiftly to consolidate his landmark election victory. Magyar's Tisza (Respect and Freedom) party won a landslide on Sunday, ending the 16-year rule of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and securing a two-thirds legislative majority — enough to amend the constitution.
Meeting Sulyok at the Alexander Palace in Budapest on Wednesday to discuss the convening of the new parliament, expected around May 6–7, Magyar told journalists afterwards that the president was "unworthy of embodying the unity of the Hungarian nation" and "incapable of ensuring respect for the law." He said he had demanded Sulyok's departure once the new government is formed and warned that, if the president refuses, his administration would introduce legislation to remove him along with other Orban-era appointees, including the chief prosecutor and the head of the constitutional court. Sulyok, described as a close ally of Orban, reportedly responded "enigmatically" to the demand.
On state media, Magyar made a rare appearance — his first in roughly eighteen months — clashing on air with television anchors whom he accused of years of biased coverage. He later described the encounter as witnessing "the last days of a propaganda machine." He announced that suspending public media news broadcasts would be among his first acts in government, and pledged to pass new media legislation to create what he called genuine public service broadcasting. Under Orban, independent media in Hungary was systematically marginalised; a conglomerate backed by his allies now controls more than 400 outlets across the country.
Beyond media reform, Magyar outlined four priority areas: anti-corruption measures including joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office, restoring judicial independence, and rebuilding academic freedoms. A pressing economic challenge looms: more than 16 billion euros ($19bn) in EU pandemic recovery funding remains frozen over rule-of-law concerns, with a deadline at the end of August to meet Brussels' conditions or forfeit the money. Magyar said he had already spoken with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and agreed to begin informal consultations ahead of his government's formal constitution in mid-May.
The incoming leader also acknowledged a message of support from US President Donald Trump, who had previously been a vocal backer of Orban. Trump told ABC News he believed Magyar "is a good man" who would "do a good job," noting that Magyar was formerly a member of Orban's own party and held similar views on immigration. Magyar described the remarks as "very friendly." Analysts caution, however, that the reform agenda will be difficult to execute quickly, as Orban loyalists remain deeply entrenched across Hungary's key public institutions.