Hungary, which lost its emblematic president after the pardon granted in a child abuse scandal, elected her successor in parliament on Monday to try to close this resounding scandal.
The first woman to hold these positions in the central European country, Katalin Novak, appointed in March 2022, resigned two weeks ago, recognizing an
“error”
in the decision to pardon the accomplice of a child molester.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, faced with his most serious political crisis since his return in 2010, himself spoke of a
“nightmare”
when talking about the departure of this relative.
Scandal
To replace her, the ruling Fidesz party has chosen a much more discreet profile, namely the 67-year-old jurist Tamas Sulyok, who has headed the Constitutional Court since 2016. The vote of the deputies is scheduled for around 4:40 p.m., for a somewhat expected result. later, time to count the ballots.
The opposition denounced this choice of a candidate without political stature and several thousand people demonstrated on Sunday in Budapest to demand the election of the head of state by direct universal suffrage.
Orban thus hopes to put an end to the scandal, which brought tens of thousands of people into the streets in mid-February, a mobilization of an unprecedented scale in ten years.
“National unity has been broken by this decision”
of pardon, the nationalist leader stressed last week on the radio, believing that only the resignation of Novak and the inauguration of a new president could
“restore unity”
.
He also promised to strengthen legislation on the protection of children, requiring in particular
“tests analyzing the lifestyle, sexual deviances and psychological aptitude”
of those working with minors.