The Hungarian parliament on Saturday elected Péter Magyar as the country's new prime minister, with the centre-right politician backed by 140 of 199 lawmakers.
Four members of the unicameral National Assembly in Budapest did not take part in the vote, which preceded Magyar's swearing in. There were also 54 votes against and one abstention.
"Today is officially the first day of the system change," the 45-year-old said in the morning before entering the parliament building with the parliamentary group of his Tisza party.
Tisza won a landslide victory in last month's parliamentary election with 53% of the vote to end right-wing populist Viktor Orbán’s 16-year hold on power.
Its 141 seats in the new parliament gives it a two-thirds majority capable of amending the constitution. Orbán’s Fidesz secured 39% of the votes and 52 seats.
The far-right party Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk) garnered just under 6% and received six seats in the assembly. No other parties cleared the 5% threshold.
However, observers note that if Magyar now fails to meet expectations or appears out of step with public demands, support could quickly erode, and his parliamentary majority could come under strain.
The challenge is on
Magyar was himself a member of Fidesz before breaking from it two years ago and presenting himself as an alternative to the increasingly authoritarian Orbán.
The new government head now faces domestic pressure to focus on the high cost of living and anti-corruption reforms. While the public is broadly pro-EU, it is divided over support for Ukraine.
During the election campaign, Magyar promised to turn Hungary into a "humane and functioning country" while declaring war on the corruption under Orbán, which is believed to be deeply rooted.
Meanwhile, millions of voters are pinning their hopes on the election winner to restore the rule of law in the Central European country and repair its damaged relationship with the European Union.
Magyar now wants to secure the around €18 billion ($21.1 billion) in EU aid that the bloc had frozen due to breaches of the rule of law and corruption under Orbán.
To this end, Magyar and his foreign minister Anita Orbán – no relation to the outgoing leader - had already entered into intensive negotiations with the European Commission ahead of the change of government.
Both Brussels and Kiev are optimistic that dealing with the new Hungarian leader will be more constructive than with the Russia-friendly Orbán.
Ukraine's recovery of confiscated funds from Hungary and Budapest lifting its veto on the huge EU loan for Kiev are signs that things are indeed moving in this direction.
