Hungary's Magyar outlines policy in first news conference

Hungary's likely next prime minister, Peter Magyar, has outlined some of the policy changes the country can expect in his first major news briefing since his Tisza party ended the 16-year rule of Viktor Orban's Fidesz. One of the factors that catapaulted Magyar to victory was his pledge to distance Hungary from Russia and walk back his predecessor's EU skepticism, especially as Budapest faces financial struggles and is desperate need of EU funds. "If Vladimir Putin calls, I’ll pick up the phone,” he told reporters on Monday, "It would probably be a short phone conversation and I don’t think he would end the war on my advice." "Russia remains a security risk," he added. Peter Kreko, a Hungarian political scientist, told DW that, with Magyar, "Hungary will not be the Trojan horse of Russia in the European Union nor NATO anymore." US still important despite Trump issues Magyar said he had no plans to call US President Donald Trump, who openly supported Orban — so much as to send Vice President JD Vance to stump for him on the campaign trail. At the same time, Tisza leader said the US remains "an important ally." He also vowed to root out corruption, and propose a constitutional amendment to bar Orban from returning to power. Orban's sucessive governments have been accused of restricting freedoms for the media, the judiciary, and the electoral process. "We will do ‌everything to restore the rule of law, plural democracy, and the system of checks and balances," Magyar said.Do Magyar and Orban have anything in common? Both Fidesz and Tisza are considered to be conservative, populist parties. Over the years, however, Fidesz has been moving more and more to the right, potraying Orban as Hungary's guarding from malicious forces abroad. Most notably, Orban has repeatedly hindered EU efforts to deliver aid to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. On Monday, Magyar said he supports Ukrainian EU membership, but would not support a "fast-track" acension to the bloc. "For one thing, we are talking about a country at war; it is completely out of the question for the European Union to admit a country at war," he said. Magyar said that every member state had to be treated the same, and that he would need stronger guarantees on the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine in order to fully support its bid. Like Orban, Magyar has taken a hardline against immigration. According to Peter Kreko, he has "emphasized that he would like even less immigration to Hungary than the previous government." That said, Kreko did not think Hungary would be seeing much of Orban in the future. "His political comeback, even in the middle or long run, is questionable," after how Hungarians viewed his friendliness with Russia, Kreko added. Tisza garnered 138 seats of Hungary's 199-seat parliament in Sunday's election with 53% of the vote, while Fidesz got 55 seats and only 38% of the vote. As soon as parliament convenes, it is expected that Tisza's two-thirs majority will swifty elect Magyar as prime minister. Edited by: Darko Janjevic