Péter Magyar Set for Swearing-In as Hungary's New Prime Minister After Tisza Landslide

Hungary's new prime minister, Péter Magyar, will be sworn in almost a month after steering his Tisza party to a landslide victory that ended Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power.

Tisza now holds 141 of 199 seats in parliament, up from zero two years ago when the party was founded.

A large celebration of freedom and democracy is planned Saturday in front of parliament in Budapest along the Danube River. Magyar urged Hungarians to step through the gateway of regime change.

Orbán's Fidesz party saw its seats drop from 135 to 52 and faces signs of collapse. Orbán and other key figures have opted not to take their parliamentary seats. Their political future remains unclear beyond a vague pledge to rebuild the national side.

Daily revelations and corruption allegations continue against Fidesz, which ruled Hungary with little opposition since 2010. Magyar pledged a change of system along with a change of government.

It remains unknown if Orbán will attend Saturday's parliamentary opening, even as a guest.

The main priority is to set up the government on the ruins of the previous one, incoming Minister for Social Relations and Culture Zoltán Tarr told the BBC.

We are ready to face a very grim economic situation. But at the moment, we just don't know the severity.

Orbán's government launched a spending spree over the past eight months atop years of state contracts and funds directed to Fidesz-linked businesses. The budget deficit has swelled near the full-year target.

The incoming government seeks to demonstrate moral strength over Fidesz.

Businessman György Wáberer, who switched from Fidesz to Tisza a week before the election, told a journalist he donated £242,000 (€280,000, $331,000) to Tisza. Magyar returned the money.

When Magyar's brother-in-law, Márton Melléthei-Barna, was named justice minister, social media erupted in criticism. On Thursday evening, Melléthei-Barna withdrew his candidacy to ensure not even the slightest shadow falls on the transition.

Incoming Tisza ministers say there will be no revenge against the outgoing government, but those guilty of financial crimes will face accountability. A new office to recover stolen assets will launch.

I don't think that we should talk about a guillotine, Tarr said, responding to calls for trials over siphoned national wealth.

We are talking about investigations and actions which are totally in line with the rule of law. Interestingly enough, the current chief prosecutor, and the police, have started certain investigations which they did not start before the election. They are questioning people.

The small number of prosecutions of prominent figures in Hungary in the past is turning into a steady flow, a source close to the prosecutor's office told the BBC, not because we didn't want to prosecute before, but because the police and the tax office were reluctant to gather evidence.

What has changed is that people are now coming forward. So a lot more evidence is suddenly available.

Police investigations target the media empire of Gyula Balásy, which secured millions in government contracts over the past decade and ran Fidesz campaigns against migrants and enemies including George Soros, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Péter Magyar.

In a tearful interview last week, Balásy offered to hand his companies and investments to the state, though he denied wrongdoing. Accounts of some of his companies have been frozen.

Investigators also probe Hungary's National Cultural Fund, including its Urban Civil Fund with a £57.2 million (€64.9 million, $76.7 million) budget. Allegations of funds channeled to Fidesz candidates are under review.

The Magyar government confronts an urgent need to unlock €17 billion in EU funds withheld by the European Commission from Orbán's administration. Commission sources in Brussels suggested last week that some Hungarian money may be lost.

Other issues include forging an EU stance on a migrant pact opposed by Orbán. The pact takes full effect June 12, but Hungary faces €1 million daily fines for noncompliance with European Court of Justice rulings on migrants.

I'm not worried, I'm excited. We are serving the country. We are serving the people. We are not here to rule. We are here to serve. We are here to fulfil a mandate.