After the outgoing president resigned amid scandal, the Hungarian parliament chooses a new leader.
Hungary’s BUDAPEST — Following the resignation of the country’s former head of state due to controversy surrounding her pardoning an accomplice in a case of child sexual abuse, the parliament of Hungary chose a new president on Monday.
In a vote held behind closed doors, lawmakers confirmed Tamás Sulyok, 67, a lawyer and former president of Hungary’s Constitutional Court, to the presidency.
Opposition parties boycotted the ballot and demanded that parliamentary appointments be made directly, rather than through a vote. They contended that Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, would have the incoming president as a “party soldier.”Five parliamentarians voted against Sulyok’s presidency, while 134 MPs supported it.
Sulyok portrayed himself as a scribe to the letter of the law who would want to stay out of Hungary’s political life in a speech given after his appointment.
The president of Hungary has mainly ceremonial duties, but he or she can return laws to the legislature or the Constitutional Court for examination.
During his speech, Sulyok brought up the continuing procedures against Hungary, in which the European Union has halted billions of euros in financing due to concerns about the rule of law and democracy.As part of a simply utilitarian political approach, we can see how the properly defined concept of the rule of law is being lost in today’s Europe, turning it from an ideal into an idol,” the speaker remarked.
In addition, he discussed his view that EU nations maintain their legitimate national sovereignty in spite of their affiliation with the organization.
up March 5, Sulyok is anticipated to officially take up the position.
A new head of state was elected following the resignation of Hungary’s conservative president on February 10 due to popular anger over her pardoning of a man found guilty of aiding in the cover-up of child sexual abuse in a state-run orphanage. The long-serving government of Orbán faced an unprecedented political controversy as a result of the choice.Opposition MP Bence Tordai asked that parliament rise before Monday’s vote in observance of the recent passing of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Siberian jail.
The majority of opposition lawmakers stood up, while those from Orbán’s Fidesz party—which has some of the EU’s closest ties to Russia—stayed in their seats.
Orbán later chastised Navalny in parliament over remarks he made during Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, which were deemed to have a nationalist tone.
“I appreciate the ruling party caucus’s bravery in the Navalny affair. Orbán declared, “Chauvinists in the Hungarian parliament are not deserving of respect.” However, may he rest in peace.
About The Author
