Hungary dismantles Orbán's authoritarian legacy

The 2021 legislation was inspired by the Russia of Vladimir Putin, an outspoken ally of Orbán, and disguised under the name of the Child Protection Law. It prohibited the "representation" or "promotion" of sexual and gender diversity in content accessible to children, affecting areas such as education, advertising, television and other media.

It was also one of the points of friction between Hungary and the European Union, which challenged the law as it considered it incompatible with the bloc's fundamental rights and legal standards. The reaction to its annulment, with 139 votes in favor and 51 against, was immediate. On the same day, the European Commission released 4.2 billion euros in financing funds for Hungary, which had been frozen.

Elected in April with a landslide victory, the conservative Magyar is trying to fulfill what he promised during the election campaign to remove the nationalist Orbán from power. His Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which leaves him in a very comfortable position to break with his predecessor's policies, which undermined the rule of law in Hungary.

Admired by former president Jair Bolsonaro and his sons, with whom he shared the conservative agenda, Orbán undermined state institutions in four terms: he changed the Constitution, replaced judges with allies, exercised total control over the media and ruined the population's civil rights. In the external scenario, it moved away from the European bloc and aligned itself with Russia.

Magyar, in turn, strives to dismantle the structures built by his predecessor, promoting amendments to the Constitution. He replaced the country's president, Tamás Sulyok, an Orbán loyalist, with András Baka, former president of the Supreme Court, thus eliminating an obstacle to reforms. Despite having a symbolic role, the president has the power to revoke laws approved by Parliament.

New provisions limited the number of prime minister terms to two, which will prevent the former prime minister from returning to power. The terms of office of parliamentarians were also restricted to 12 years, and the establishment of a new retirement age forced judges of the Constitutional Court to retire.

In the wake of the previous government's fight against rampant corruption, Magyar created an asset protection and recovery department, with powers to investigate and monitor abuses involving public resources. Hungary is among the most corrupt countries in the European Union and committed to a list of the bloc's demands in exchange for 16.4 billion euros in funds that were withheld.

In the last six months, the political turmoil promoted by the Magyar government has given him an increase in popularity: support for his party has grown to 60%. Like his predecessor, he projects a hard line against immigration and rejects the European Union's migration pact. But, fundamentally, he has shown a willingness to abandon the policy of confrontation with the bloc, common during the Orbán era.