Equipped with a constitution-rewriting supermajority, Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party cabinet just marked their first 100 days in power.
And ‘power’, rather than ‘office’, is the right word as Magyar moves at speed to dismantle the Fidesz state built over four consecutive terms by his predecessor, Viktor Orbán. Their initial popularity has dipped after a misstep over the appointment of a new president but Magyar and Tisza still command 60% national support - founded not only on a desire for political change but on hopes for economic stabilisation and swift entry to the euro area.
After their 16-episode pre-election series on Hungary, Tim G. Jones and Pepijn Bergsen are checking in on Magyar’s 100-day honeymoon - helped by Pepijn’s recent research trip to Budapest.
“It’s been basically scorched-earth tactics with regard to getting rid of as much as possible what remained of the Fidesz regime,” he says. This is necessary and popular but the government is facing major challenges as it readies Hungarians to swap their forints for euros early in what it hopes to be its second term.
Twenty-Four Two, hosted by Tim G. Jones and Pepijn Bergsen, is a podcast from 242.news - a Substack newsletter covering the destructive recreation of Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24/2/2022.
