The Magyar government in Hungary is conducting "Operation Purgatory". The most important goal is to recover the billions illegally accumulated by Orban's entourage. The public wants to see "the handcuffs click".
The new government of Hungary, led by Peter Magyar, is implementing rapid reforms. In the field of foreign policy, Magyar began the promised return to Europe in the first weeks of his mandate. He lifted the blockades against the EU and began a dialogue with Ukraine, which his predecessor Viktor Orban called the "evil empire". In the area of domestic policy, the parliament in Budapest reduced the salaries of deputies and ministers and limited the prime minister's term to a maximum of two terms.
Magyar set about changing the essence of the Orbán regime
The first moves contained a lot of anti-Orbán symbolism, but now Magyar is setting about changing the essence of the Orbán regime. The autocrat had also secured himself in the event of a loss in the elections - his appointed and difficult-to-replace civil servants were to sabotage the work of each new government. And billions set aside were to continue to finance Orbán's network.
Thanks to a comfortable two-thirds majority in parliament, Petőr Magyar's government can now liquidate these structures. In a speech to parliament on Monday (June 22, 2026), the new prime minister called Orbán's rule a "mafia system". He promised to eliminate it radically – with the help of “Operation Purgatory” - the Magyar's penchant for religious and historical symbols is well known.
Large-scale investigations must reveal how Orbán's family, friends, oligarchs and high-ranking party members have enriched themselves – in order to return the illegally acquired funds. The state, the judiciary and the media must be restructured so that a return to Orbán's system, that is, to political control over processes in society and over state institutions, is no longer possible. “Orbán wanted to tie the hands of all future governments, and now the Magyar government is destroying his plan“, read the commentary on the 444 portal.
The first package of laws has been adopted
On Tuesday (June 23, 2026), the parliament adopted the first larger package of laws within the framework of “Operation Purgatory“. It mainly includes anti-corruption measures, which are important for Hungary to receive frozen funds from the EU in the amount of about 17 billion euros. For a large part of them, about 10.4 billion euros, the deadline expires in August.
One of the most important measures concerns the abolition of “Non-profit Property Management Foundations“ (KEKVA). Behind this complex name are private foundations that manage universities, cultural institutions or cultural monuments.
A symbol of kleptocracy
On the right is the house where former Prime Minister Orbán grew up. The building behind it is a football stadium that has more seats than the population of the village. This is one of the symbols of corruption under Orbán. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
They were created during Orbán's time to transfer huge public assets into the hands of private entities - a symbol of Orbán's kleptocracy. The total amount amounts to 5 to 9 billion euros. At the same time, some of these foundations served to impose a new management structure on most Hungarian universities, which was filled with personnel loyal to Orbán. In this way, the autonomy of many universities was liquidated.
The most famous example of such a foundation controlling significant state assets is the “Matthias Corvinus Collegium“ (MCC) – the most important school for training personnel and propaganda of Orbán's “Fidesz“ party. At the initiative of Orbán's government, in 2020, MCC received 10% of the state shares in the oil concern MOL and in the pharmaceutical company “Gedeon Richter“ free of charge – with an estimated value of about 1.3 billion euros.
Greater transparency in public procurement
In addition to these laws, the parliament also expanded the powers of the so-called Integrity Agency and tightened the rules for declaring the assets of politicians and senior civil servants, as well as the requirements for transparency and accountability in public procurement. The latter were one of the most important conduits of corruption and personal enrichment during Orbán's time.
For example, the companies of Lorínz Meszáros, a former classmate of Orbán from his native village, benefited from them. The former heating technician became a billionaire during Orbán's time. His nickname is "Orbán's wallet".
Media reform
On Tuesday, parliament fulfilled another promise from Magyar's election campaign: restructuring the public media, as well as significantly limiting political hate campaigns through national advertising campaigns with posters and videos, which were common under the former prime minister.
During Orbán's 16-year rule, the Hungarian public media were purely propaganda institutions and sources of fake news. Despite the legal requirement of objectivity, opinions different from those of “Fidesz“ were almost never heard in them. The previous holding companies of the public media are now being abolished. In their place, new bodies are being created, in which, in addition to the parties, journalist associations will also have their representatives.
"How the handcuffs click"
This week, other important bills were also put into motion, as well as a constitutional reform. Most independent Hungarian observers consider the planned creation of the "National Assets Recovery and Protection Agency" (NVVH) to be the most important of all the laws. This is one of Magyar's main election promises: to recover the billions illegally and non-transparently accumulated by Orbán's entourage during his rule, and to bring the individuals responsible to justice.
In the news portal 24.hu, political scientist Gábor Török described the planned creation of the NVVH as the "most important political measure" of the Hungarian government. It responds to the public's desire to see "the handcuffs snap" - something that no government has achieved since the changes of 1989/90.
The Hungarian "trilemma"
Now a public debate is due on the creation of the national agency in question - a practice that did not exist in Orbán's "illiberal democracy". The same applies to the planned changes to the constitution, including the removal of President Tamás Szujók, called by Magyar "a puppet of the Orbán regime", and the limitation to a maximum of three parliamentary terms. The latter is particularly criticized in Hungary.
Foreign policy expert Zsuzsanna Szelenyi - an associate of Orbán in the early 1990s, when "Fidesz" was still a liberal party, wrote in the portal “Social Europe“ that the Hungarian government now has to solve the “post-liberal trilemma“: to quickly repair the damage caused by illiberal governance; to prevent the resurgence of populism; and to ensure that constitutional norms are strictly observed. According to Seleni, the key to Hungary's democratization lies in achieving “a balance between speed, efficiency and the rule of law“.