‘Tamás Sulyok is an outstandingly good choice for the position of President’, Levente Szikra, analyst of the Center for Fundamental Rights, opined on public radio on Tuesday.

The expert reminded that after his election on Monday Sulyok expressed his conviction in his speech in the National Assembly that mutual trust is the foundation of the nation’s unity. Sulyok is a ‘respected jurist’, who has never been a politician, so he cannot be criticized for that, Szikra noted. He recalled that President Sulyok was not even willing to join the state party before 1990, so he could not be a judge then.

The analyst highlighted in connection with Sulyok’s activity as a constitutional court justice that during his tenure the Constitution Court ruled that the defence of Hungarian constitutional identity must be enforced even against European law. The Court also declared that while Hungary is a member of the European Union, where there is no EU competence, Hungarian sovereignty must be defended against the ‘overpowering’ of the EU, Szikra stressed.

Responding to the reporter’s suggestion that according to DK president and former Socialist PM Ferenc Gyurcsány the ruling parties have elected the president through a ‘coup’, the analyst reacted that with such radical and unethical statements, Gyurcsány places himself outside the legal system and the constitution. The Hungarian Basic Law clearly regulates the process of the election of a new President. In accordance with the law, Hungarian parliament accepted the resignation of President Katalin Novák on Monday, and on the same day elected the new President.

Anyone who talks about a coup knows nothing about the constitutional system,

Szikra concluded.

Regarding the fact that opposition parties with the exception of LMP and Mi Hazánk were absent from the vote on the new President, the analyst remarked that the behaviour of ‘the radical left-wing opposition’ is completely inconsistent. While they vehemently oppose the constitutional order in words, in their actions they constantly accept it: they participate in elections, and if they win, they are happy to fill various positions and the accompanying, not insignificant salaries. This inconsistency was also evident at the Monday session of parliament, when the left-wing radical opposition accepted the resignation of Katalin Novák and Sweden’s NATO accession, then refused to take part in the election of Tamás Sulyok.

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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/Kossuth radio