“I made a mistake” – Hungarian President Novak resigned. She had come under pressure for pardoning a man involved in a case of sexual violence against children.
Hungarian President Katalin Novak has resigned following public outrage over her pardon of a convict in a case of sexual violence against children. Just a few hours earlier, she had returned early from an official visit to Qatar. She has been in office since 2022 and is the first woman to head the Hungarian state.
“I issued a pardon that caused confusion and unrest among many people,” said the former family minister. “I made a mistake.” Their decision was preceded by days of protests. On Friday evening, thousands of demonstrators in Budapest demanded her resignation.
Novak pardoned some people in 2023 on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit – including the former deputy director of a state children’s home. The investigative news portal 444 made this public. The man was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 as an accomplice because he helped cover up the abuse committed by the director of the facility. According to the court ruling, he forced children to recant their testimonies as victims of abuse against the home director in order to exonerate his boss. He had known about sexual violence against children for years. The home director was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The resignation was preceded by massive protests.
Orban distanced himself from his former comrade-in-arms
In Hungary, heads of state play a subordinate political role. They are elected by parliament, usually on the recommendation of the strongest party. Prime Minister Viktor Orban had suggested filling this position with Novak, who had previously been an influential politician in Orban’s Fidesz party.
With the pardon, Novak also ran counter to Orban’s policy, which publicly calls for the protection of children. The right-wing populist Prime Minister recently publicly distanced himself from his former political colleague Novak. He introduced a proposal for a constitutional amendment to parliament that would never allow criminals whose victims are children to be pardoned.
Ex-Minister of Justice decides not to run for office
Former Justice Minister Judit Varga also came under criticism because of the case. She had to agree to the pardons. Varga had been expected to top Hungarian ruling party Fidesz’s list of candidates for the summer European Parliament election. Vargas has now announced on Facebook that she is taking responsibility for her actions and is withdrawing from public life. She is resigning from her seat in parliament and also withdrawing from the electoral list for the EU Parliament.
Wolfgang Vichtl, ARD Vienna, tagesschau, February 10, 2024 8:24 p.m