Opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) MEP Klára Dobrev said on Sunday that DK will start collecting signatures in support of a proposal that voters should directly decide who should be the next president of the republic.
Dobrev said in her Facebook post that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán decided who were the previous three presidents of Hungary, “and we all know how that turned out”.
First he chose a head of state who “plagiarised half of their doctorate thesis”, then he opted for “a signature machine bereft of their own opinion”, and finally he selected someone who granted a presidential pardon to the assistant of a paedophile criminal, the opposition politician said.
Dobrev said that if Orbán were to choose again, then an “unworthy party soldier” would become Hungary’s next president. DK, she added, would propose that, like is most other European countries, the people should directly elect the head of state.
DK will soon start collecting signatures at street booths and online in support of their proposal, she said.
Jobbik calls for president to be elected directly
The opposition Jobbik-Conservatives have said they are calling an extraordinary session of parliament to propose a bill on directly electing the president of the republic.
The right-wing party last year proposed to MPs changing how the head of state is elected, but the ruling Fidesz majority voted it down, Brenner Koloman, who is Jobbik’s mayoral candidate for the capital, told a press conference on Sunday.
Noting the outcry over Katalin Novák’s decision to pardon the deputy director of a children’s home who was found complicit in child abuse, he said it would have been preferable had a president been elected by Hungarian citizens rather than by Fidesz MPs, adding that a figure who truly embodied the unity of the nation should be elected as head of state.
Fidesz parliamentary group leader: On the right mistakes have consequences
On the right, mistakes have consequences, Máté Kocsis, the Fidesz parliamentary group leader, told public radio on Sunday in connection with Katalin Novák, who has proffered her resignation.
Kocsis referred to a “rare political situation”, and he said Novák had made a responsible decision to resign and admit her mistake in connection with her pardon of the deputy director of a children’s home who had been convicted for helping to cover up child abuse.
He said in the interview that Novák’s resignation had been “a straightforward decision”, and he also noted that Judit Varga, who led the Fidesz list for the upcoming EP election, had also taken responsibility for her part in the pardon, when she countersigned it during her time as minister of justice.
The Fidesz politician said the left wing, however, had been mired in “a thousand and one scandals” in the recent past but had failed to take responsibility. He said the leader of the Democratic Coalition, Ferenc Gyurcsány, “should never have returned to politics under any circumstances”.
Kocsis noted that following Novák’s decision, several parties proposed electing the head of state directly. This, he added, had not occurred to the Democratic Coalition or the Socialist Party when their representatives were in government.
Their demand, he added, may have had credibility had they made such an initiative when they had a parliamentary majority.
Meanwhile, Kocsis said that were Novák to sign her resignation today, MPs would have to decide within fifteen days whether to accept it or not, adding that this decision could be taken on Feb 26, the first day of the spring session.
He said that were parliament to accept her resignation — which he said he had no serious doubt they would do — then the new head of state must be elected within thirty days, so Hungary would have a new president in March.
The Fidesz group leader said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s proposal to change the constitution with a view obviating the right to a presidential pardon in cases involving child abuse was “a child protection measure”.
Kocsis said it was strange that the left wing was vehement in wanting the head of state gone, but had failed to vote for any child protection amendments previously.
Nevertheless, he said it was likely that the left wing would now vote for Orbán’s amendment, “though I wouldn’t rule out the opposite either”.
Also, the second package of the child protection law will be submitted to lawmakers in the spring, he noted.
Green opposition Párbeszéd calls for joint opposition presidential candidate
The opposition Párbeszéd-Greens party is inviting the leaders of the “pro-republic” opposition parties to meet to discuss a potential joint presidential candidate, party spokesperson Richárd Barabás said on Sunday.
Barabás told an online press briefing that whereas his party had proposals for the candidate, what was more important at this stage was to show “strength” and a “way forward for the country mired in a moral crisis” by taking a joint stand.
The task of “the pro-republic opposition”, he said, was to show an alternative to the “corrupt system”, and “a political path based on truth, solidarity and caring for each other”.
Barabas noted that his party had called on President Katalin Novák to resign, adding they were glad that she had done. “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán now cannot hide behind the skirts of his former allies,” he added.
Barabas said the Párbeszéd-Greens party continued to support the idea of electing the president directly as it was important that the “institution regain its credibility”.
Read also:
- Hungarian President resigns after pardoning paedophile helper – Read more HERE
- Here is what comes after the Hungarian President resigned
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2 Comments
The (14) plus years, the PEOPLE of Hungary, under it’s present Prime Minister – Victor Orban and his Government, have had to make changes such as is the title of this article.
This is the GROWING picture HAPPENING in Hungary, and it will WORSEN, people, the citizens of Hungary, will start to take RIGHTFUL actions when matters/situations near a crisis point or reach them.
Mahatma Gandhi quote:
“It’s easy to stand in a crowd, but it takes courage to stand alone.”
Ms. Novak’s action was a mistake. I wonder that her staff did not supply the President with the required information. Well, since everyone makes mistakes, this mistake did not result in WWWIII. The people of the pardoned person will probably make the offender’s life hell and he would willingly return to jail.
Since Ms. Novak did a great job for years, just reappoint her.