Hungarian News

Orbán got a New Spineless Puppet

• March 10, 2022
• István
• 17 Comments

With the headline I insulted all women – according to Katalin Novák, Orbán’s new president. She declared ►HU: “those who say I’ll just be a puppet in this position are actually not underestimating me, but all women” in the regime press. I say her only qualification is that she will be a spineless puppet of Orbán in this position. After Kövér refused being the next president of a republic that is thanks Orbán no longer called the Republic of Hungary, another candidate was needed to follow Orbán’s orders blindly ►HU. Orbán’s candidate of 2005 László Sólyom, who was involved in re-writing our constitution in 1989 to become democratic, was able having an opinion of his own, which disqualified him from re-election in 2010. Orbán might have had problems with the constitutional lawyer Sólyom, in abolishing the constitution without the legally needed 4/5th majority. Instead the opinionless Pál Schmitt was selected and after he resigned in the copy-and-paste affair in 2012 János Áder was picked as being Orbán’s uncritical yes-man. Since he is after 2 terms not allowed running again Novák will be Orbán’s puppet. Generally the president has not much power, but may suggest candidates for some high positions, veto laws, sending them to the constitutional court, and may dissolve the parliament if this does not pass a budget that gets also the permit of the FIDESZ picked budgetary council.

More women in politics would be a good thing, especially in FIDESZ they are hard to find – in opposite to blind followers of Orbán. There are definitely good female politicians, but they are not available for the position. It is even the question whether active politicians should be made president, since the president has to represent all Hungarians and not a party. Novák was until she was nominated not only minister, but also vice president of FIDESZ. So everybody the opposition considered as candidate was a way more decent choice. Just that the word decency is not found in the dictionary of Orbán.

It was from the beginning sure that Novák would need the votes of 133 brave sheep in parliament to be elected in the 1st round, wherein a 2/3 majority is needed. Orbán clearly demanded all FIDESZ MPs to vote, those defending themselves against criminal charges and are normally hidden from public as well. The election must happen fast. Perhaps it is the agenda of Orbán, who demanded an early seating for being able to travel to France ►HU. The election of our president is just another tiresome activity and all votes are needed.

Novák is allowed to give a statement to the press, because she is member of parliament, while her opponent is not allowed to address the press in the parliament for not being member of it and Kövér rejected an exception. However, she declared before the elections already not to talk with the press. Remarkable decision. Both candidates are allowed to speak for 15 minutes in the chamber, but in opposite to the tradition the speaker refused to read out the curriculum vitae of the candidates. Are presidential elections not important enough for Kövér? Looks the puppet too weak or the opposition candidate too strong to him? I don’t know.

So I will briefly introduce the candidates. The former minister without portfolio responsible for family affairs Novák is according to Péter Márki-Zay even less capable than János Áder ►HU. When she lived in Germany with her husband, who was working at European Central Bank, while she was busy getting her 3 children, she wrote a blog and was happy that she does not need to make her living from a meagre Hungarian income ►HU. A situation – regarding the purchase power for those not being minister or president – that did not improve at all. In Hungary she has had a typical party career, after she earned a degree she worked in a small position in the ministry of human resources. Promoted by former minister Balogh, she got into parliament in 2018 and was made state secretary. Later promoted to minister in the same function, but no longer part of human resources but as one of the ministers in the PM’s office. Despite she is very proud of her work the child benefits were never increased under Orbán and the share of GDP used for family policies shrunk as well. While she was responsible in the resort less children were born than in the so much bashed Gyurcsány area. But she has bought advert space at the airport that Hungary would be family friendly in several languages. Who cares about the reality if the opposite is read already at the gangway?

Péter Róna as 14-year-old boy fled with his family in 1956 to the USA. He obtained an honour degree from the university of Pennsylvania before further studies that ended with a first class honour degree at University College, Oxford. After a career in America, where he became head of a multinational asset management company, he returned to Hungary and served as the CEO of the First Hungary Fund, until 2003. Between 2003 and 2010 he taught at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. In 2010 he was appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Central Bank ►EN. He has ties to LMP, never took over a political office, but worked in the party foundation.

Although propaganda outlet Metropol declared already on December 22nd, 2021 Novák to be the new president the parliament gathered this morning for the election. Before the elections a discussion took place about Putin’s war. The usual propaganda from the government, the usual points of criticism from the opposition. The foreign minister again succeeded in not mentioning Russia or Putin in his speech. Again he lied that the opposition would immediately send soldiers to Ukraine, that the government would not allow sending “deadly weapons” to Ukraine and that Hungary would not allow such a transport. In fact Hungary participated in the purchase of weapons through the EU and transported weapons with Hungarian military planes.

Finally the candidates arrived and the seating went on. Novák talked about that this would be a very normal Thursday for most Hungarian families, the children would be in the kindergarten or school, the parents working and perhaps only in the evening news they will hear that they got a new president. A normal day? After Russia has started the war, at a moment we were so glad that we seemed to get back security and freedom after the pandemic. The war couldn’t be defended by anything, war would be unacceptable she said, the government, the churches and NGOs would help the refugees, all Hungarians take part in this effort. “We women do not want to win the war, we want to win the peace,” she quoted Mother Teresa. She married 20 years ago, got a degree, and she was assisted in her career by former minister Balogh. She would be so happy having helped families for the last 8 years. So many Hungarian children were born, and she addressed to Orbán “thank you for being a part of building the nation.” She described how she grew up, mentioned her grandparents and parents. She talked about marriage, husbands and their wives, and that she will remain a woman as head of state! “We Hungarians regard the world with Hungarian eyes from Hungarian ground.” Further she reviled her 1st destination she would travel to as president: Home to her family. At the end she called for defence of the basic law. She reminded that on April 3rd there will be elections, a fateful moment she said. She would not guard over the breakdown of the constitution, she will work for maintaining it.

I am not sure whether the former vice president of FIDESZ was talking to a party congress and wants to become minister of family affairs or to parliament for getting elected as president. For the latter she completely disqualified with her pandering of Orbán for being part of his babyboom. The only positive thing is that she named Russia as being the aggressor in Putin’s war against Ukraine. Her calling against a reform of our constitutional order, of the one-party basic law Orbán created, made clear that she will conduct party politics instead of the duty the constitution, even Orbán’s private one, demands of her.

Directly after Novák spoke her opponent was called to speak by Kövér. Róna thanked for being candidate of 6 parties. He started with a condition the basic law imposes onto the president: To work for the unity of the nation and to guard the democracy. The government would be in best friendship with Russia, the country attacking his neighbour in a bloody war. The entire world condemns this attack and we don’t dare to say who the aggressor is! He reminded to all the horrors we went through in the last century and having chosen so often for the wrong side. “Can’t we distinguish good from evil, truth from lies?” The Hungarian should not regard the Hungarian as enemy, but as another Hungarian. He used the Latin “e pluribus unum” to make clear that all differences need to be overcome for a common aim. Not the own kind must be risen over the rest. Constitution and democracy, not law and government. Now the goat has to protect the cabbage. “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely” he said. He called for a balance of power, for breaks to be added to the system. It is not parliament that constructs a constitution, but the constitution a parliament. He believes that the Hungarian nation really needs unity and reconciliation. But the rule of law makes this difficult. That is why he accepts the basic law as being law, but the power belongs to the people. The constitution does not provide a framework for using power, but to restrict the use of power. When nearly the entire world is dominated by violence, when a pandemic is raging, when war and the destruction of nature make millions to refugees, where can we find relief? In giving up our humanity to give way to hatred? “Definitely not,” he said. But this would be the illiberal answer. The better answer is not to demolish where we have unity about already. There is a huge agreement in our society since the days of saint István that we Hungarians want to belong to the West. Not Russia or Turkey are our world, where authorities react with brutal murder and imprisonment, we belong to the Christian and enlightened West. Why should all this be thrown aside for the friendship of a Russian dictator? Róna clearly sided with EU and NATO as our partners. Taking Turkey and Russia as model for the exercise of power is alarming, as is the unfair Hungarian electoral system. This would be as unfair as the health care where some are waiting on lists, sometime until it is too late, while others get help immediately. While 74 % of Hungarians live under the EU poverty line others are sunbathing on private yachts. Teachers are deprived of the minimal means for a life, while 30 gunmen raid a church organisation helping the poor. Let’s shake hands with each other, strive to heal historical wounds, even if the other is on the wrong track. Return to what we all believed in when we fought for a free and democratic state in 1956 and 1989. As free and democratic state, we can be a successful member of the community of nations. God bless Hungary, God bless the Hungarians.

I think that no further comment is needed to show the differences between the candidates. I took the time needed for the voting and counting to write down the speeches from the notes I made, while I watched the seating on the website of the parliament. Although counting is not over yet I am sure that Hungary did it again: Taking the wrong decision. Since the seating is no longer available I advise to re-read the reporting on telex ►HU.

And now it is official, Novák got in the 1st voting the needed 2/3 majority, 4 votes more than FIDESZ has. But also Róna got a vote more than he has got recommendations from. It is speculative of course, but there are a few “independent” members from Mi Házank, who came into parliament on a Jobbik ticket, who usually vote with FIDESZ and a German minority representative, who is openly a FIDESZ man as well. Novák has been sworn-in immediately and will take over the function of spineless puppet on May 9th.