BUDAPEST — Hungary's incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has lost his first cabinet pick before the new government even takes office. Márton Melléthei-Barna, the nominee for justice minister and Magyar's brother-in-law, announced on social media that he is withdrawing his name from consideration.
Melléthei-Barna, a lawyer and former university peer of Magyar, was one of the ten founding members of the Tisza Party in 2020 and served as its legal director. He also represented the party on the National Election Committee during the 2024 European Parliament elections. His nomination, however, immediately drew fire from the now-opposition Fidesz party, which lost the 12 April parliamentary elections to Magyar's Tisza in a landslide.
In his statement, Melléthei-Barna said he consulted with Magyar and they agreed that the best interests of the country and the Tisza government would be served if the prime minister appointed a professional judged solely on merit. “In order not to cast the slightest shadow on the regime change,” he wrote, “we agreed that the best interests of the country and the Tisza government would be served if the Prime Minister asked for a capable and committed professional to be appointed Minister of Justice.”
A Family Dilemma
Magyar acknowledged the family link — Melléthei-Barna is married to his sister, Anna Ilona — as a “serious dilemma.” In a roughly six-minute video posted to social media, the prime minister-elect outlined his priorities: “We need to start putting our country back on track, bringing home EU funds, kick-starting the economy and improving public services. As well as healing the wounds of the past decades, reuniting the Hungarian nation and of course bringing justice to those who committed the crimes of the past regime.”
Magyar thanked his brother-in-law for the decision, adding that he believed Melléthei-Barna would have made a fantastic justice minister. The episode underscores the challenges facing the incoming administration as it seeks to distance itself from the Orbán era while managing internal party dynamics.
The new government is scheduled to be sworn in on Saturday, 9 May — Europe Day, which commemorates the 1950 Schuman Declaration. That date also marks the foundation of the European Union, a symbolic choice for a government that has pledged to restore Hungary's relations with Brussels after years of friction under Viktor Orbán. Magyar has already taken steps in that direction, including returning seized Oschadbank assets to Ukraine and meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to reset ties with Rome.
Magyar will now need to name a new candidate for justice minister before the swearing-in. The choice will be closely watched, as the justice portfolio is central to the government's promises of judicial reform and anti-corruption measures — key conditions for unlocking billions of euros in frozen EU funds. The episode also highlights the delicate balance between loyalty and competence in a party that has never held power before.
For now, the Tisza government's first test has been a lesson in optics. Whether Magyar can maintain momentum without further missteps remains an open question as Europe watches Hungary's political transition.
