Implications of Baka becoming Hungary's new president?
András Baka was elected by the Hungarian parliament with the Tisza Party's two-thirds majority as the country's new president on Tuesday. Former prime minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party – which is now in the opposition – claims the election was illegal because Baka's predecessor, Tamás Sulyok, was removed from office by a constitutional amendment. The press focuses on the future and what a new constitutional system will bring.
Restoring checks and balances
The way Péter Magyar has handled the situation highlights the difference between him and his predecessor, hvg comments:
“It would have been a golden opportunity for Magyar to use the vacancy to serve his party's power interests and satisfy the demands of his core voters. On this point, however, the new head of government's political instinct differs from Orbán's: he does not seek to prove in every situation that no one can stand in the way of his will. On the contrary, he is trying to reach out to his critics and give concrete form to his promise to restore the system of checks and balances.”
A symbolic interim solution
Hungary is entering a new era both in terms of its power politics and its constitutional law, observes 444.hu:
“While Tamás Sulyok was president, all of his actions were aimed at serving Orbán's power; it was therefore no surprise when, on the night of his election victory, Péter Magyar called on Sulyok to resign. His removal became a symbol of the dismantling of the Orbán system. ... Baka's term of office – the first of its kind – will last until the new constitution is adopted, but for no longer than five years. Baka will probably be the last president elected by the National Assembly. The new constitution, which is expected to come into force in two years' time, will most likely provide for direct election of the president.”
Back into the heart of Europe
With Baka as president, Hungary could leave behind the illiberalism of Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule, Der Standard comments:
“Magyar is bringing the 75-year-old out of his self-imposed exile and will propose him to parliament for a key position in the state on Tuesday, with a view to returning the country to a form of democracy far removed from Orbán's illiberalism. Baka, a prominent victim of a highly problematic constitutional amendment, is set to become the guarantor of a policy that will steer Hungary away from the missteps of the last one and a half decades and back into the heart of Europe. Magyar has a very tough nut to crack here. He'll need all the help he can get.”