Tamás Sulyok chosen by Fidesz as candidate for President of the Republic
February 24th, 2024Commentators critical of the government express varying views on what to expect from the President of the Constitutional Court whom Fidesz’s parliamentary group has nominated to replace Katalin Novák as President of the Republic.
On Telex, Zsolt Sarkadi is convinced that Mr Sulyok will be a ’faithful servant’ of the ruling party as President of the Republic and will hardly refrain from signing practically whatever laws will be submitted to him. He dismisses the candidate’s words that he has never been interested in politics and quotes three cases in which, in his capacity as a constitutional judge, Mr Sulyok successfully proposed verdicts in favour of the government’s position on politically tainted matters.
In a more cautious comment on the Magyar Hang website, Kornélia R. Kiss believes the government must be sure of the loyalty of its candidate, nevertheless, she believes that as someone who is not likely to aspire to a later political career, the 67-year-old lawyer might not want to retire with the image of someone who never raised concerns about controversial pieces of legislation he has to sign into force.
Péter Bod, Népszava’s correspondent in south-eastern Hungary who personally knows the candidate assures his readers that Mr Sulyok is a highly respectable and honest person. He describes him as a quiet, modest man with an excellent sense of humour and wonders how he could end up near the highest circles of political power. Nevertheless, Bod is certain that from the first days of March, Hungary will have a calm and wise person as President of the Republic.