Tisza party leader Péter Magyar, who is set to become Hungary’s Prime Minister, has announced a sweeping review of all state property privatisation cases from the period 1988 to 2000.
According to Magyar, the new government will establish a special commission to thoroughly examine the circumstances under which assets passed from public to private ownership during the final years of the socialist era and the early post-transition period. The aim is to identify potential cases of corruption, abuse, and illicit enrichment during one of the most far-reaching economic transformations in Hungary’s modern history.
At the same time, Magyar pledged to fully declassify the archives of socialist-era intelligence service agents — primarily those of the State Security Service of the Hungarian People’s Republic. Previously, access to most of these materials was heavily restricted, with citizens permitted to view only their own personal files. The archives are now planned to be opened to researchers, journalists, and the public.
“We will dust off those folders and find out what was really happening in the 1990s,” said a representative of the incoming administration, stressing that this would be one of the new cabinet’s top priorities.
Tisza’s victory in the parliamentary elections of 12 April 2026 and the forthcoming transfer of power after sixteen years of Viktor Orbán’s rule have prompted expectations of significant change. Magyar and his allies are positioning these steps as part of a policy of transparency, reckoning with the legacy of the past, and restoring public trust in state institutions.
Observers note that a reassessment of 1990s privatisations could affect the interests of many influential business groups and politicians whose wealth was accumulated during that period. The full opening of the intelligence archives, meanwhile, has the potential to generate considerable public controversy by revealing the names of former informants and agents among the present-day elite.