Hungarian PM's chief of staff holds first press briefing after President's resignation

Resignations

What has happened in the pardon case is what had to happen,

said Gulyás. He added that Judit Varga (former Justice Minister) and Katalin Novák (President of the Republic) had accepted responsibility and resigned.

Endre Kónya, a man convicted of covering up sex abuse at a children's home outside Budapest. Kónya was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, but was pardoned by Novák ahead of a visit by Pope Francis in April 2023 when he still had nine months to serve. His criminal record was also wiped clean, meaning he could, in theory, return to work in education or childcare.

Former Justice Minister Judit Varga, who was expected to lead Fidesz’s list in the June European elections and was also rumoured to be a candidate for an EU commissioner post, has also been forced out of public life as she countersigned the controversial pardon.

Last April, Novák set the record of pardons granted in one day, when she pardoned 22 people, including György Budaházy, who had been convicted of terrorism, and five others accused in the trial of the now defunct far-right group Hunnia. Budaházy, the head of Hunnia, was given a 13-year prison sentence in 2016 for “terrorist acts”, along with 16 other activists. They had all been convicted of carrying out a series of attacks between 2007 and 2009, with firearms and Molotov cocktails, against the homes of various socialist and liberal MPs, who at the time were in power.

We have taken note of the decision of the President of the Republic and the [former] Minister of Justice. Although everyone makes the countersigning person the target of criticism, every Minister of Justice has countersigned every pardon application over the last 25 years.

Undoubtedly, it would have been good to break with this practice,

Gulyás said . The law provides that pardon decisions are not justified, he added.

When asked if he considered the case closed, Gulyás said that after the resignation of the President of the Republic and the Minister of Justice, he does.

Later he noted that he would not rule out making pardon procedures public, adding that he believes that the next head of state will make all his/her decisions public.

He believes that it will be the practice to disclose [who were granted presidential pardon] without a change in the law.

He noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had also learned about the case from the press. Asked what how the PM reacted, Gulyás cryptically replied that Orbán will hold his state of the nation address on Saturday.

According to a summary by balkaninsight.com, Kónya is said to have close links with the Protestant Church, and Novák’s former mentor, former human resources minister Zoltán Balog, admitted to having lobbied on his behalf. But unlike the two women, Balog, who is head of the Hungarian Reformed Church, has refused to resign. His insistence is deeply embarrassing for the church, whose bishops are calling for his resignation. Balog is also known to be Orbán’s ‘spiritual guide’, so the case may have been discussed and approved at the highest level, the paper speculates.

I have great respect for Zoltán Balog, he is an excellent bishop,

said Gulyás, when asked what he thought of Balog, who supported the pardon decision. He insisted that Balog had not informed Orbán that he was lobbying for Kónya's pardon. Neither the Justice Minister, nor the President informed him about this case, he added.

Child protection

He said that child protection legislation would be tightened, with actual legislative action expected in the spring session of Parliament, which kicks off on 26 February.

President replacement

For the time being, the government is unlikely to have a new candidate, but according to Gulyás, they are expected to have one within two weeks.

There is a clear constitutional order on the election of the President of the Republic, Gulyás said, adding that there will be no direct election. He referred to a recent proposal by opposition parties. The role of the President in Hungary is largely ceremonial.

Paedophilia

We are open to further toughening the penalties for paedophile offences, said Gulyás in response to a question.

PM Orbán has reacted to Novák's resignation only once, in a social media post.

He said that on behalf of the government, he has proposed a constitutional amendment that would make it impossible to pardon the perpetrator of a crime against a minor.

There's no pardon for paedophile offenders. This is my personal belief,

Viktor Orbán said in a video shared on his Facebook page. Orbán emphasized the need for decisive action, asserting there should be no room for legal ambiguity. "A clear and unambiguous decision is necessary to rectify the situation," he said in the video.

The Hungarian National Assembly adopted the ‘anti-LGBTIQ’ law in June 2021, which led the European Commission to initiate its infringement procedure. The European Court of Justice published the Court case on 19 December 2022.

Among other things, the Hungarian law prohibits the presentation of homosexuality, gender reassignment or "sexuality for its own sake" to children under 18, and may restrict or exclude certain NGOs from sex education and other school programmes. The opposition and rights campaigners say it deliberately conflates paedophilia with homosexuality.

Sweden

There are "hopeful negotiations" with the Swedish government on whether Hungary's Parliament will ratify Sweden's accession to NATO, said Gulyás.

A bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation will visit Hungary on Sunday with strategic issues affecting Hungary and NATO in the focus of the talks, Reuters reported today.

The visit is to take place most likely in connection with the fact that

HUNGARY IS THE ONLY NATO COUNTRY NOT TO RATIFY SWEDEN'S APPLICATION.

NATO enlargement requires the backing of all members, and Hungary has been dragging its feet over Sweden's bid since the summer of 2022, souring relations with the United States and raising concerns among its allies.

Orbán-Zelensky meeting

If there is a tangible benefit for both countries, and especially for us, the Orbán-Zelensky meeting will take place, said Gulyás. If they are open to issues such as the situation of Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, then a meeting makes sense, he added.

Inflation

I would be cautious about the announcement of the final results, said Gulyás, referring to whether inflation has been beaten as government officials keep boasting. The inflation figures are close to the acceptable level of under 3%. I fear that only next year will annual inflation be below 3%, but this year it will not be as much of a problem as last year.

Inflation, which peaked in January 2023 at over 25%, fell to single digits by the end of the year and then to 3.8% by January 2024. Economy Minister Márton Nagy stressed on Thursday that inflation is no longer a serious problem for economic growth. Earlier he stressed that whether inflation is at 4-5% or 3% is less relevant for economic policy, because we are in a year of recovering growth.

In its winter forecast, the European Commission projects annual HICP to decrease from 17.6% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024 and 4.1% in 2025. Compared to autumn, the forecast has been revised down for 2024, but remains unchanged for 2025.