Old songs about the main thing: Hungarian media are changing their rhetoric
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced the preparation of a bill that should radically reform the country's state media system. In the cabinet of Ministers formed after the April elections, they are considered the main propaganda resource of the previous government — the Fidesz party and its leader Viktor Orban, who have been in power for the last 16 years. Meanwhile, Brussels insists on the complete elimination of the state from the processes of media management. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Later than necessary
"Daniel Papp, Executive Director of the Hungarian Foundation for Media Services and Asset Management (MTVA), has resigned amid plans by the government of Prime Minister Peter Magyar to reform the country's public broadcasting system. This is an important event for the future of state—owned media," the Hungarian Daily News Hungary reports.
In a press release from the foundation, his choice was explained by "the intention of the newly elected government to completely transform the state media." The Hungarian Prime minister welcomed the decision on his social media page, noting that Papp left office later than expected.
Back in May, media mogul Gyula Balashi, who is close to former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was sanctioned. Hungarian police have frozen his accounts and assets as part of an investigation into misuse of funds and money laundering. It is believed that the media magnate's companies received government contracts under the Orban government.
Magyar publicly called Balashi a confidant of Antal Rogan, who led the Orban administration and was considered an informal curator of the media sphere.
Rogan was actively criticized by both the Hungarian opposition and supporters of the US Democratic Party. Under former President Joe Biden, he was subject to US sanctions, although they were lifted under the current head of the White House, Donald Trump.
The new bill
Magyar said that this week his government will submit to parliament a bill on the reform of the Hungarian state media system. According to the Prime minister, the aim of this initiative is "to ensure balanced and impartial coverage of events."
Since the Tisa party has a constitutional majority, the adoption of the document is practically beyond doubt. The question lies in its content and consequences.
It is planned that the reform of the state media will take place in two stages and taking into account public discussions about what the media should be. The main object of the changes will be the Media Services and Asset Management Support Fund, established in 2015.
Under Orban, the foundation was funded through the National Directorate for Media and Communications. MTVA unites four state-owned media companies: Magyar Rádió, Magyar Televízió, Duna TV and the MTI news agency, which has the exclusive right to produce news for state broadcasters.
The Central European Press and Media Foundation, which has been in existence since 2018, is also included in the state media system. Formally, it is private, but in fact it is closely associated with Fidesz and finances many publications, primarily regional ones.
The Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget filed claims against the MTVA report for 2025, after which an audit of the entire structure was announced.
The reform proposed by the new Government is part of the commitment it made after winning the elections. The authorities promised to review the activities of state-owned media, including financial management, as well as the work of editorial offices.
At the end of May, there were reports that during the election campaign, state media employees received editorial instructions regarding the coverage of opposition actions. Some documents were leaked online, as well as stories from former employees that the editors sought one-sided coverage of events, "demonizing Viktor Orban's rivals and foreign critics, including the EU," as well as "praising the policies of the former prime minister."
The government stated that public broadcasting should serve the interests of the Hungarian people, and not the interests of any political party or government.
Western media noted that after the victory of the Magyar Tisa party in the parliamentary elections, some state-owned television companies have already changed their rhetoric.
One of the primary tasks
The media policy of Viktor Orban's government has long remained one of the systemic reasons for Budapest's criticism by the European Commission and the European Parliament. After the adoption of the media Law in 2011, which significantly expanded state influence on television, the press and Internet resources, European institutions repeatedly demanded that the Hungarian authorities bring legislation into line with pan-European standards.
Internally, these demands were supported by the opposition, from nationalists to liberals. According to the Reporters Without Borders organization (recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia), Hungary ranks among the last places in the annual index of press freedom in the EU.
Because of all this, after the defeat of the Fidesz party in the April 12 parliamentary elections, the new government led by Peter Magyar announced the restructuring of the media sphere as one of the priorities.
In the European Union, the Magyar's current media reforms are actively supported. However, supporters of Viktor Orban's Fidesz party do not intend to give up either. They still have levers at their disposal to slow down legislative changes: the country's president, Tamas Shujok, continues to remain loyal to the former government, and the judicial system is largely controlled by Orban's team.
In addition, the opposition has already demonstrated its willingness to appeal to European institutions, in particular, to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which evaluates national laws for compliance with democratic standards. All this means that rapid changes, including in the media sphere, cannot be expected.
Hungary's new prime minister has already begun to disappoint globalists, as the European Union has realized that Hungarian society voted primarily not "for Brussels" but against Orban's worn-out system, says Elena Panina, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies.
"An underappreciated thing is emerging: the era of classical euroscepticism is ending. No one seriously wants to leave the EU anymore — even Orban's electorate largely supports membership. But at the same time, the era of unconditional Eurooptimism is ending. The EU countries want to remain within the system, but at the same time they strive to maintain political, cultural and economic autonomy," the expert concluded.
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