President Schmitt mocked

In his sarcastic weekly editorial column, the editor of Magyar Narancs cautions against forcing Hungary’s President to resign.

Pál Schmitt awaits (on March 28) an official academic judgement on accusations of plagiarism, as he allegedly copied the bulk of his doctoral thesis twenty years ago from the works of others (See BudaPost, January 18 and February 21).

After a volley of ironic remarks, Magyar Narancs warns that if Schmitt has to quit, his successor will be elected, once again, by the right-wing majority. Schmitt’s mandate would normally expire in 2015, while his successor, if elected this year, would remain in office until 2017. Under certain conditions he could even dissolve Parliament, therefore even if left-wing opposition forces manage to win the next elections in 2014, Schmitt’s successor could give them a hard time. “Hands off Pál Schmitt!”, Magyar Narancs concludes.

Tags: plagiarism, Schmitt