Magyar plans swift media reforms to emulate Tusk’s Polish strategies
Magyar vows to suspend Hungary’s national broadcaster’s signal immediately upon taking office, mirroring Tusk’s approach in Poland to bypass an opposition president.
Magyar’s government possesses a two-thirds constitutional majority, empowering swift implementation of reforms and strengthening ties with the EU for essential recovery funds.
“The moment I take office, I will suspend the national broadcaster’s signal,” vowed Magyar, drawing parallels to a drastic shift in media control.
Key developments
Magyar plans to implement shock therapy similar to Tusk’s in Poland, aiming to dismiss state broadcast management and suspend the national broadcaster’s signal upon taking office.
Both leaders prioritise joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, with Magyar possessing a two-thirds majority, easing his path through potential legal challenges faced by Tusk.
Watch: Magyar visits Tusk – will there be a Warsaw on the Danube?
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In late 2023, the Polish prime minister wrote the modern playbook on unwinding years of entrenched illiberal rule. Now, Magyar is looking to apply it, especially as the two leaders expressed a similar to-do list across three key areas.
To bypass an opposition president, Andrzej Duda, Tusk’s government used a parliamentary resolution to instantly dismiss state broadcast management, literally taking the network offline overnight. Magyar is threatening the exact same shock therapy.
Following a heated interview last week on public television, which he likened to North Korean propaganda, he explicitly vowed to suspend the national broadcaster’s actual signal the moment he takes office.
And for the judiciary, both leaders made joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office a day-one priority, reversing their predecessors’ refusals to participate.
Tusk is still struggling to implement a full judicial reform. He has faced severe gridlock, requiring complex legal acrobatics to bypass presidential vetoes. Magyar, however, wields a two-thirds constitutional majority. EU officials are already in Budapest negotiating the release of €10.4bn in recovery funds, knowing Magyar has the parliamentary numbers to push the necessary reforms.
Finally, Tusk rapidly purged the management boards of state-owned enterprises, with the oil giant Orlen being the most famous example.
And Magyar is preparing a similar sweep across Hungary’s state-backed institutions. He plans to recover state assets and cut funding to ideological networks like Mathias Corvinus Collegium, or MCC.
However, this strategy could have downsides. Rushing invites legal missteps and advocates of the outgoing governments argued that neither Orbán nor Morawiecki directly obstructed the transition.
One thing is certain: from illiberal to liberal transitions, the new approach seems to rely on shock therapy to dismantle the old system overnight.
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