The crowds had been filling up all day, able to follow proceedings inside Parliament via giant screens erected especially for the purpose. According to MTI’s correspondents, by 4 p.m., the square was packed to capacity, with crowds spilling into surrounding streets. The Kossuth tér metro station was temporarily closed, and exits took nearly an hour as escalators operated one-way only.

The numbers outside Parliament were swollen by crowds from an event organized by the Budapest municipality, called “Thanks to You!”, at the Pest side of the Chain Bridge on Saturday. After entertainment, a speech by Mayor Gergély Karácsony and others by activists and teachers, the crowd marched to Kossuth tér.

As Magyar emerged from Parliament with his sons, he was greeted with cheers. The military parade and flag-raising ceremony followed, featuring the Hungarian Guards, Hussars, the National Equestrian Ceremonial Unit, and the Central Military Band of the Armed Forces of Hungary.

“Today marks the culmination of a long journey we have taken together and of our shared belief that Hungary is capable of getting back on its feet, regaining faith in itself, and once again becoming a common homeland for all Hungarians,” Magyar told the celebrating crowd, as cited by MTI.

Taking Parliament Back
Parliament had been turned into “a symbol of oppression, the arrogance of power and exclusion,” he said, but now it had been returned to the people. “You have taken it back, and your representatives sit there once again, the representatives of all Hungarians.”

He told the crowd, “You wrote it [this story] with your work, love of country, hope, concern, determination and cheerfulness. This is now your regime change, your homeland, your National Assembly.”

Magyar has effectively been on the election trail for two years, first for the European Parliamentary elections, and then for the General Election. In that time, he claims to have visited 700 settlements across the country. “I will never, ever forget what you’ve taught me about Hungary […] you changed not just the country, but me as well,” Magyar said.

He added that one of the defining tasks in the years to come would be “relearning how to see each other as a community,” and he urged his supporters to reach out to those from across the political divide who now felt disappointed, afraid or as if they had lost something. “Together, we will rebuild Hungary, because there is no left or right; only Hungarians,” he said.

In an indication of how hard that might prove, Bence Rétvári, parliamentary faction leader of the Christian Democrats People’s Party (KDNP), posted on Facebook after the inaugural sitting of Parliament. Although he congratulated Tisza on their election victory, and Magyar and his MPs, he described the prime minister’s speech to MPs as one “of revenge, not national unity.”