[REVIEW] Peter Magyar's Tisza party wins the Hungarian election with a supermajority

On Sunday 12th, Hungarians voted primarily between Fidesz’s Orban and Tisza’s Magyar to become the next prime minister. If Orban succeeded, he would participate in his fifth term. However, Hungarians voted for Tisza’s Magyar. Preliminary results, based on more than 98% of counted votes thus far, put Peter Magyar on course for 138 seats, exceeding the 133 seats needed for supermajority. Defeat for Orban was indicated very early, with Magyar posting on Facebook that Orban congratulated him on the victory with just 30% of the votes counted at the time. The turnout was also record-setting, with 79.5% of the electorate voting. Hungarian assets took Tisza’s win positively, with the HUF appreciated against the euro by as much as 2.9%, while the Hungarian BUX index jumped by over 3% in early trading. Next step for Peter Magyar is to convene the first sitting of the new National Assembly. This must take place within 30 days of the election, so the new parliament is set to start around mid-May.

Magyar’s campaign pledges:

• Unlock EUR 17bln of funds that have been withheld from the Orban government on rule-of-law and corruption concerns.
• Clamp down on corruption and reduce unjustified public investment.
• Increase healthcare spending, limit state intervention in the economy, and support small businesses through EU-funded grants and tax incentives.
• Raise NATO defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
• Join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, strengthen the independence of public media and the judiciary, and tighten conflict-of-interest rules.
• Cut income tax for workers earning below the median wage and reduce tax on the minimum wage.
• Maintain a hard line on border protection while negotiating exemptions.