Hungary's PM-Elect Vows To Suspend ‘Propaganda Machine’ State Media, Urges President To Resign

Last Updated:April 15, 2026, 21:37 IST

Peter Magyar plans to suspend state media news, pass a new press law, and is urging pro-Orban President Tamas Sulyok to resign or face removal.

Days after Peter Magyar’s win brought an end to Viktor Orban’s 16 years of rule, the Prime Minister-elect has vowed to suspend state media news organisations, calling them as “propaganda machine", when he takes office around mid-May.

Magyar, a former Orban ally and leader of the opposition Tisza Party, is set to become the next Hungarian Prime Minister once the parliament is formed. Orban conceded defeat in a speech in Budapest, saying the responsibility to govern had not been given to his party.

Until recently, he was closely associated with Orbán’s governing Fidesz, where he held various roles, including work linked to state-owned firms and European Union affairs.

“Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth," The Guardian quoted Peter Magyar saying in an interview with Kossuth state radio.

He further said that his government would pass a new press law and form a media authority to allow the state media “to actually do what it is meant to do".

According to The Guardian, the state media authority hit back at Magyar’s claims of being shut out during the campaign, saying it had extended multiple invitations to Magyar and his party.

Previously, Reporters Without Borders have repeatedly flagged concerns about the media in Hungary as loyalists to Orbán’s Fidesz party control an estimated 80% of the country’s media.

In a post on social media, Magyar said: “We have just witnessed the last days of a propaganda machine. After the formation of the Tisza government, we will suspend the news services of the ‘public’ media until its public service character is restored."

Demand For Resignation Of President

PM-elect Peter Magyar called for resignation of Hungarian president, Tamás Sulyok, an Orbán supporter.

“I repeated to him that, in my eyes and in the eyes of the Hungarian people, he is unworthy of embodying the unity of the Hungarian nation, incapable of ensuring respect for the law," he told reporters, adding that Sulyok had agreed to “consider" his arguments. “I told the president … that Hungarian people have voted for a change of regime."

AFP quoted him saying that if the president refuses to step down, his government will introduce a law removing him and “all the puppets nominated to top posts by the Orban system".

News world Hungary's PM-Elect Vows To Suspend ‘Propaganda Machine’ State Media, Urges President To Resign

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