Hungary’s Parliament will elect a new President of the Republic on Monday, February 26th, most likely to be Tamás Sulyok, the head of the Constitutional Court, who is the conservative ruling party, Fidesz’s nominee. As the party’s parliamentary group leader, Máté Kocsis said on Friday that Tamás Sulyok is the only candidate for the position, because opposition parties did not select a joint candidate, and the names put forward separately by opposition parties did not have the backing of 40 MPs, the number needed to officially become a nominee in the 199-seat parliament.
Electing a new president was necessitated by the resignation of former President Katalin Novák, who stood down from her post two weeks ago after her decision to pardon a man convicted of covering up child sexual abuse caused outrage in the country. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also voiced his anger at the decision and announced that he had submitted a constitutional amendment on behalf of the government that would make it impossible to pardon anyone convicted of child sexual abuse. He told the public radio station Kossuth Rádió on Friday morning that there can be no clemency for paedophiles. He also addressed the need for thorough background checks within child protection institutions, calling for comprehensive evaluations of candidates.
Though the details of the constitutional amendment are still being discussed, Máté Kocsis said they want to make sure that criminals convicted of child sexual abuse may no longer be released from prison before the end of their sentence, and may never be able to acquire a certificate of good conduct. Furthermore, the statute of limitations for crimes committed against children would never expire.
The nomination of Tamás Sulyok for the presidency may signal a potential shift towards more rigorous enforcement of child protection laws. Hungary has been harshly criticised by EU institutions for its child protection bill, adopted in 2021, which introduced stricter laws to protect children from paedophilia, and banned the promotion of homosexuality and gender transition in schools and media. The criticism of the law has even been cited as one of the reasons for the freezing of EU funds to Hungary.
Viktor Orbán praised Sulyok’s qualifications, emphasising his legal expertise and commitment to upholding Hungary’s constitutional values. He said:
We believe that experience, proficiency in constitutional and legal matters, knowledge of international law, and a suitable career path made Tamás Sulyok the most suitable candidate.
The 67-year-old Sulyok worked as a lawyer before becoming a member of the Constitutional Court ten years ago and being appointed its president in 2016. Reacting to his nomination, he said:
As a lawyer, as President of the Republic, I can serve the public good and express the unity of the nation, above all by upholding the fundamental values of law.
Katalin Novák was not the only high-ranking official to hand in her letter of resignation following the political scandal. Judit Varga also announced her “withdrawal from public life” for having given her approval for the pardon as justice minister—a post she left in order to lead the party’s European Parliament election list. Fidesz announced on Thursday that Member of the European Parliament Tamás Deutsch has been nominated to lead the Fidesz list of candidates at the European elections in June. He is one of the founders of Fidesz and has served as an MEP since 2009.
As we previously reported, Fidesz left the centre-right European People’s Party in 2021, and Viktor Orbán has signalled his intention to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament. With only four and a half months remaining until the European elections, Brussels is already bracing for a major right-wing shift in EU politics. Both of the anti-establishment right-wing blocs—the ECR and the Identity and Democracy group—are expected to grow significantly, and Fidesz’s projected tally of 14 seats would be a big boost for ECR.
