When autocratic rulers fall, their private excesses often become public. Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu and Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovych are well-known examples: images of Ceausescu’s gilded bathroom and Yanukovych’s luxury habitations remain emblematic of regimes that enriched themselves while the state decayed.
Now Hungary’s former prime minister Viktor Orban and his circle face similar exposure. Newly sworn-in Prime Minister Peter Magyar released videos showing Orban’s official Buda Castle residence and parts of two ministries. The footage documents vast, richly furnished rooms and, strikingly, almost 100 valuable paintings taken from the Hungarian National Gallery and displayed in the official residence. Magyar said the rooms reminded him of the Ceausescu era.
One video from the tour was viewed some eight million times in a single day — a remarkable reach in a country of just under ten million people. For many Hungarians the images have sparked anger and a sense of satisfaction at seeing the former elite’s lifestyle laid bare. Outside observers might call the move populist; for supporters of the new government it is part of a broader demand for accountability.
Magyar has signaled he intends to steer Hungary in a markedly different direction. In his inauguration speech he described reconciliation as a priority and insisted that justice — both moral and legal — requires exposing and confronting what he termed the Orban system.
He declared the day of his swearing-in a symbolic “regime change day.” Journalists were once again allowed to report freely from parliament, a practice that had been curtailed under the previous administration. The EU flag was ceremonially raised on the parliament building after more than a decade, and an unofficial Roma anthem was performed in a parliamentary session by an ensemble of Roma and non-Roma children.
Magyar’s address to parliament was unusually blunt, a public reckoning with the prior government. Orban himself did not attend the session; traditionally outgoing and incoming leaders greet one another in parliament, but the customary handshake did not take place.
The day’s ceremonies also included a moving moment on Parliament Square, where Roma pop singer Ibolya Olah — long marginalized and threatened by nationalist audiences — performed a patriotic song to a large crowd gathered in an area that had previously been cordoned off.
In the days that followed, Magyar completed his new cabinet and formally transferred power after 16 years of Orban rule. The cabinet is notable for its composition: many ministers are respected specialists with limited political careers — diplomats, energy experts, managers, scientists and medical professionals rather than career politicians. That mix is meant to convey a commitment to professional governance and restoration of institutional norms.
Key reforms announced or promised include an independent anti-corruption authority, an office dedicated to recovering illegally acquired assets, and one of the most comprehensive audits of government spending Hungary has seen. Authorities also plan to publish a long-delayed list of former state security agents later in the year.
Individually, these measures might seem routine in other EU democracies. But in Hungary’s recent context they represent substantial shifts: moves to strengthen judicial independence, restore university autonomy, rebuild dialogue with civil society and the press, reform the electoral system for greater transparency, and reopen public debate on issues such as gender equality, abortion and same-sex marriage.
Magyar convened his first cabinet meeting in Opusztaszer, a southern village linked in national myth to the 896 arrival of Hungarian tribes. The area is suffering a severe drought, which became a topic for discussion at the inaugural meeting — a reminder that governance challenges range from symbolic to practical.
Magyar has set high expectations for himself and his team, staking out standards he says will exceed those of any prime minister since 1990. One early test will be his proposed substantial pay cut for the prime minister’s office — a pointed contrast with Orban, who had the highest relative salary among European leaders compared with his country’s average wage.
The new government’s early actions — exposing the lavish trappings of the former leadership, restoring symbolic ties with the EU, elevating marginalized voices in parliament, and staffing ministries with domain experts — are intended to signal both rupture and reset. Whether these steps translate into durable institutional reform will depend on the follow-through of investigations, legal changes, and the capacity of new institutions to operate independently.
Originally translated from German.