Hungary's new PM to be sworn in during 'regime change' party

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Hungary's new PM to be sworn in during 'regime change' party14 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleNick ThorpeBudapest correspondentReutersIt was almost a month ago that Péter Magyar's party won a landslide victory in Hungary's electionHungary's new prime minister, Péter Magyar, is set to be sworn in, almost a month after he steered his Tisza party to a landslide victory, sweeping away 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán. Tisza holds 141 seats out of 199 in the new parliament - up from zero, a result of the party being founded just two years ago. A big "celebration of freedom and democracy" is planned on Saturday in front of parliament in Budapest, along the shores of the Danube.

Magyar has told Hungarians to step through the "gateway of regime change". Orbán's Fidesz party crumbled from 135 to 52 seats, and shows signs of imploding. He and other key party figures have decided not to take their seats in parliament, and their political future is uncertain, beyond a vague commitment to "rebuild the national side".

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Each day brings new revelations or allegations of corruption against a party which has governed Hungary almost unchallenged since 2010. Magyar has promised a "change of system" as well as a change of government. It is not known whether Orbán will attend Saturday's opening session of parliament, even as a simple guest.

"The main priority is to set up the government... on the ruins of the previous one," Zoltán Tarr, incoming Minister for Social Relations and Culture, told the . "We are ready to face a very grim economic situation.

But at the moment, we just don't know the severity. "A spending spree initiated by the Orbán government in the past eight months came on top of years in which state contracts and funds were channelled to business circles close to Fidesz. The budget deficit has already swollen close to the planned target for the whole year.

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via Getty ImagesMagyar is being sworn in at the Hungarian parliament, where preparations took place this weekThe incoming government is at pains to show that it is morally stronger than Fidesz. One prominent businessman, György Wáberer, who switched from Fidesz to Tisza a week before the election, told a journalist he had donated £242,000 (€280,000, $331,000) to Tisza. Magyar promptly returned the money to him.

When Magyar's brother-in-law, Márton Melléthei-Barna, was named justice minister, the new government was bitterly criticised on social media. On Thursday evening, Melléthei-Barna announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the post, "to ensure that not even the slightest shadow is cast on the transition". Orbán's era was over in a flash and Hungary's next PM is a man in a hurryOrbán era swept away by Péter Magyar's Hungary election landslideWho is Péter Magyar, the former Orbán ally heading for power in Hungary?

Incoming Tisza ministers say there will be no revenge against the outgoing government, but those guilty of financial crimes will be held accountable.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.