On Saturday, February 10, Katalin Novak, the president of Hungary, announced her resignation in the wake of a controversy surrounding her decision to pardon a man convicted of concealing evidence of child sexual abuse in a foster home.Read full article
The public has just recently been aware of the pardon decision, which was issued last year, following a story by the local news site 444.hu. The report caused a stir and prompted the opposition in Hungary to demand that Katalin Novak resign.In Hungary, calls for her resignation have been intensifying. Apologizing, Ms. Novak acknowledged that she had made "a mistake" by issuing the pardon.
I made a mistake," Novak admitted in a Saturday televised speech announcing her retirement and expressing her regret to any victims who may have believed she had abandoned them.
When Novak was elected president in 2022, she also identified as a Christian conservative politician with a family-oriented platform.
In addition, Judit Varga, the former justice minister who granted the pardon, has quit from her new position as head of the European elections campaign for the Fidesz party, which is led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
A well-liked figure in Fidesz, Novak is a rare female politician in a nation where men predominate. She served as Mr. Orban's family minister before becoming one of his most important allies. She was the first woman to assume the mostly ceremonial position of president of Hungary in 2022.
When Novak was elected president in 2022, she also identified as a Christian conservative politician with a family-oriented platform.
In addition, Judit Varga, the former justice minister who granted the pardon, has quit from her new position as head of the European elections campaign for the Fidesz party, which is led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
A well-liked figure in Fidesz, Novak is a rare female politician in a nation where men predominate. She served as Mr. Orban's family minister before becoming one of his most important allies. She was the first woman to assume the mostly ceremonial position of president of Hungary in 2022.