Hungary’s Magyar seeks compensation in asbestos row with Austria

Hungary’s newly appointed Prime Minister Peter Magyar visited Austria on Thursday, May 21, as part of his first foreign tour since taking office on May 9, aiming to reinvigorate bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.

Magyar arrived in Vienna at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). The visit followed his trip to Poland, which marked his first official foreign engagement as prime minister.

During the visit, both leaders expressed their intention to bring a new quality to the long-standing relationship between Austria and Hungary. Magyar noted that a planned joint government session in Hungary in September would serve as a signal of this renewed cooperation.

Despite the positive tone, relations between Vienna and Budapest remain strained due to an ongoing environmental dispute. For decades, quarries on the Austrian side of the border have extracted materials containing harmful asbestos and used them in the region. According to Magyar, many thousands of families in Hungary have been affected, prompting him to demand compensation payments from Austria.

Magyar also addressed the issue of populism, drawing on his recent electoral victory. His centre-right Tisza party secured a two-thirds majority in Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, defeating Viktor Orbán, a right-wing populist leader who had been in power for 16 years.

The 45-year-old prime minister emphasised that maintaining close contact with citizens is essential to countering populism and extremism.

"It is quite simple: politics must be about people," he said at a press conference in Vienna. "Facebook posts and press conferences are not enough. You have to go out to the people."

Magyar highlighted his own campaign approach, noting that he conducted part of it from a 30-year-old van and visited more than 700 municipalities across Hungary over a two-year period.

"When people sense that you are genuine, they vote for you," he added.

Magyar has pledged a systemic shift away from the governance style of Orbán’s administration, which he said dismantled the rule of law in Hungary, signaling a new political direction for the country.

By Tamilla Hasanova