Péter Magyar sworn in as Hungary’s prime minister to end 16-year Orbán era

The pro-European centre-right leader Péter Magyar has been sworn in as prime minister of Hungary, marking the official end to Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power. Saturday’s ceremony – during which Magyar had invited people to join him to “write Hungarian history” together and “step through the gate of regime change” – comes a month after his opposition Tisza party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections . Péter Magyar delivers a speech in parliament after becoming Hungary's prime minister. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters The result sparked jubilation in Budapest and beyond, as Orbán and his populist, nationalist movement had long been held up by the global far right as an example to emulate. Early on Saturday, people started pouring into the square outside the country’s neo-Gothic parliament to follow along as the inaugural session was broadcast on large screens. At each glimpse of Magyar, the crowd cheered, while some booed lawmakers from Fidesz and the extreme right Our Homeland party. Many in the crowd had travelled hours to be there. “This is the first time I feel like it’s good to be Hungarian,” said Erzsébet Medve, 68, who had come from Miskolc in north-eastern Hungary . “I feel like I could cry.” As a school teacher, she had long watched in frustration as Orbán and his Fidesz government left the education system deprived of funds. …