BUDAPEST - After the euphoria of his stunning defeat of Viktor Orban in Sunday's parliamentary elections, Peter Magyar faces the Herculean task of loosening the longtime nationalist leader's vice-like grip on Hungary's institutions.
His two-thirds majority in parliament should provide the backing the former government insider-turned-critic needs to enact the radical break from the 16-year-long Orban era, Magyar promised a population weary of rampant corruption.
Restoring ties with the European Union, balancing the central European nation's books and fixing the degraded state of Hungary's public services will also be in the 45-year-old's in-tray.
- 'Hound you out' -
As he criss-crossed the country throughout his electoral campaign, Magyar vowed to restore the rule of law in Hungary.
While in power, Orban and his Fidesz party kept the Constitutional Court, Public Prosecutor's Office and Court of Audit on a tight leash and appointed allies to run them.
While his landslide win gives Magyar free rein to replace Orban's picks, "you cannot simply fire all Fidesz loyalists from these so-called independent institutions," said Robert Laszlo of the Political Capital think tank.
"The big question is whether these seemingly Fidesz loyalists, how long will it take for them to gravitate to the new power, to the new government, to the new prime minister," he said, predicting that some could leave "in the upcoming days".
As he celebrated his election win on Sunday evening, Magyar invited those tempted to block his agenda to resign.
"Leave, leave, don't wait for us to hound you out," he said.
Orban's rapid admission of defeat suggests "that we can expect a smooth transition of power, with no Trump-like challenge to the election results", said Gregoire Roos, European programmes director at the London-based Chatham House think tank.
But Magyar will still have to negotiate with President Tamas Sulyok, a close ally of Orban whose powers are not insignificant.
On Monday, Magyar urged Sulyok to convene the freshly elected parliament "as soon as possible". The president has 30 days to do so.
- Revive the economy -
Near the top of Magyar's to-do list will be how to revive the Hungarian economy, with stagnating living standards having helped bring down Orban.
Faced with economic growth of just 0.3 percent in 2025 and some of the highest inflation in the EU, the pro-European conservative hopes to restore investor confidence and has considered adopting the euro to help guarantee stable prices.
Magyar also intends to tackle the country's endemic corruption, re-investing the money saved by eliminating overvalued public contracts into public services such as healthcare and education, which suffered greatly under Orban.
- EU reset -
Magyar, whose victory was widely welcomed across the EU, has hinted his country would no longer be the pro-Russian spoiler it was during Orban's time in power.
The incoming leader needs to secure the 18 billion euros of funding frozen by the EU, for reasons including concerns over LGBTQ rights, the treatment of asylum seekers and the awarding of dodgy public contracts.
"He will do his best to unfreeze them," said Laszlo.
But that "does not mean that Peter Magyar will be a lamb", the analyst warned, especially on the issue of Ukraine.
While he has never hidden his objections to fast-tracking Ukraine's membership of the EU, by Monday he had already insisted that admitting the country while at war was "out of the question".
"But in 95 percent (of the time), he will join the European mainstream," Laszlo said. - AFP