Péter Magyar, the Hungarian political phenomenon who pushed Viktor Orbán from power after 16 years, has just handed the public the first serious scandal of his new government. His sister's brother-in-law has been appointed justice minister. Not a friend, not a party colleague, not a well-known lawyer - a relative. And in the first weeks after the election win. The Balkans know this kind of move very well. The Hungarians - it seems they'll have to learn the same lesson all over again.

Márton Meletei-Barna, the new minister, is a lawyer and a university classmate of Magyar. In 2020 he was one of about ten co-founders of the „Tisza" party. All those references matter. But not as much as the fact that he is married to the prime minister's sister. And that is exactly why the opposition - now Fidesz in the awkward position of a new opposition after a decade and a half in power - exploded.

Magyar tried to explain the move on social media. His sister, who had been a judge, will be suspended from the judicial system over „understandable concerns". That's diplomatic language for: „yes, we get that this looks bad, so we'll at least take her off the stage." But the justice minister, who appoints, promotes and controls judges - stays a member of the family.

„The future justice minister has an undisputed domestic and international career, a high quality of work and a clear vision," Magyar wrote in the post. And then: „Long after he joined our community, he united his life with the life of my sister." A sentence that sounds bad in Hungarian, and entirely bad in any other language. At least he doesn't say „my sister's love life" - and that's about the minimum one can expect.

For the Balkans, this scene is extremely familiar. Macedonian governments past and present have made the same moves. Sons-in-law, in-laws, friends of children of officials. No prime minister or party in the Balkans has ever talked about it the way Magyar is - that's the difference. Hungarians still dare to criticise out loud. Here, when Mickoski or someone else appoints a relative, the questions get asked quietly, three weeks later, and without consequences.

Magyar won the elections with the message „end of Orbán's corruption". The first appointment - family. The question he himself has to answer: what is the difference between his approach and Orbán's, other than that Tisza is now doing it instead of Fidesz? Maybe the difference will become clear in the future. Maybe it won't. The Balkans can offer plenty of examples of „new" leaders behaving exactly like „old" ones - if Magyar wants a reminder, he can just read the news from Belgrade, Skopje or Podgorica over the last 30 years.