BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� The Hungarian government’s new Cabinet was sworn into office on Tuesday, marking the final transfer of power from the former administration of to a new center-right government led by .
The swearing-in of the 16 ministers came after only two days of parliamentary committee hearings, a sign that Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer who took office on Saturday, is seeking the quickest possible end to the political system Orb谩n led for 16 years.
Magyar鈥檚 pro-European Tisza party defeated Orb谩n鈥檚 nationalist-populist Fidesz in last month, gaining more votes and seats in Parliament than any other party in Hungary鈥檚 post-Communist history.
The win, which gave Tisza a two-thirds majority, will allow it to roll back many of the policies that gave Orb谩n a reputation among his critics as .
During comments following the swearing-in of his new ministers in Hungary’s Parliament, Magyar said 鈥渢he government now being formed will be the government of all Hungarians鈥� and 鈥渁 servant of the nation and not of the prime minister,鈥� in a direct critique of his predecessor.
鈥淲e must repair the destruction, division, backwardness and loss of trust over the past two decades by making Hungary a functioning, livable and self-reliant country again,鈥� he said.
Magyar’s voters expect action on corruption
Tisza gained 141 seats out of 199 in parliament, while Orb谩n鈥檚 euroskeptic Fidesz party now controls 52 seats, down from 135 before the election. The far-right Mi Haz谩nk (Our Homeland) holds six seats.
Many of the nearly 3.4 million Hungarians that voted for Tisza expect Magyar to hold Fidesz officials and their business allies accountable for the perceived misconduct and corruption of the outgoing administration.
Magyar plans to form a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds misused during Orb谩n鈥檚 tenure. He has also said Hungary will join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, allowing EU officials to investigate fraud cases and the way money from the bloc was spent.
He鈥檚 also vowed to suspend the news services of Hungary鈥檚 public broadcaster 鈥� widely seen as a mouthpiece of Orb谩n鈥檚 party 鈥� until objectivity can be restored.
In his inauguration speech, Magyar again called on many of Orb谩n’s appointees, who are in their roles for lengthy terms, to step down no later than May 31, including the president, the attorney general, the head of the media authority and the chief justice of the Constitutional Court.
Hungary’s new government has 16 ministries, up from 12 under Orb谩n’s last administration. Magyar has vowed to conduct a major overhaul of much of the governmental structure, and there are now separate ministries for health, environmental protection and education that did not exist under Orb谩n.
He’s also said he will prioritize restoring democratic institutions and the rule of law which eroded under Orb谩n鈥檚 rule, and to hold accountable those who he says were responsible for overseeing and benefiting from widespread official corruption.
New government wants to unblock frozen EU funds
Magyar’s administration is expected to transform political dynamics within the European Union, where the former prime minister had upended the bloc by frequently vetoing key decisions, most recently concerning support for neighboring Ukraine.
As part of those efforts, Magyar’s government has signaled it will prioritize the ($20 billion) of EU funds frozen during Orb谩n鈥檚 time in office over rule-of-law and corruption concerns. The money is sorely needed to jump-start Hungary鈥檚 struggling economy, which has stagnated for the past four years.
In a video posted to Facebook on Monday, the new foreign minister, diplomat and foreign policy expert Anita Orb谩n, said her ministry鈥檚 primary task will be to 鈥渂ring EU funds home,鈥� and to 鈥渃onsolidate Hungary鈥檚 place in Europe and in the EU.鈥�
Among other cabinet members who took office Tuesday were Minister of Economy and Energy Istv谩n Kapit谩ny, a former Shell executive, and Minister of Finance Andr谩s K谩rm谩n, an economist and former executive at Erste Bank.
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McNeil reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer B茅la Szandelszky in Budapest contributed to this report.
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