Hungarian Parliament Elects Former Supreme Court Chief Andras Baka as President
6 sources across 6 countries
Who reported this
- Deutsche Welle
- Telex
- Asahi Shimbun
- NRC
- Taipei Times
- Kyiv Independent
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
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The Hungarian parliament elected Andras Baka, the 73 year old former head of the Supreme Court, as the country's new president on Tuesday. Baka was nominated by the ruling Tisza party, led by Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who won a landslide victory in April's general elections. The vote passed with 140 lawmakers in favor and six against, while the opposition Fidesz party boycotted the proceedings. Baka is scheduled to formally assume office on August 19.
Baka's appointment follows the removal of the previous president, Tamas Sulyok, whose term was shortened via a constitutional amendment passed by the Tisza party's two thirds majority. Sulyok was widely viewed as an ally of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Baka himself was previously removed from his role as chief justice in 2011 under Orban's government, a dismissal that the European Court of Human Rights later ruled was a violation of his freedom of expression.
In his first speech, Baka emphasized the need to restore the rule of law and cautioned against using the new government's power for revenge. He described the deep social and political divisions in Hungary and called for a culture where political opponents are not viewed as enemies. Prime Minister Magyar described Baka as an example of commitment to constitutional principles and stated that the appointment is part of a broader effort to dismantle the legacy of the Orban era.
International leaders, including the presidents of Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Austria, and Slovakia, issued congratulations to Baka. The transition has been viewed by some as a restoration of democracy, while others have raised concerns about the methods used to remove the previous president.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets highlighted the contrast between the current administration's goals and the illiberal practices of the previous regime, while noting the irony of using constitutional amendments to remove a predecessor.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the procedural details of the election and the symbolic nature of Baka's appointment as a return to the rule of law.
Sources
- Centre-left Asahi Shimbun: Mr. Baka elected President of Hungary: 73 year old former Chief Justice to oversee power
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Hungary's parliament elects Orban critic as new president
- Centre Kyiv Independent: Hungarian parliament elects new president after ousting Orban ally
- Centre NRC: Behind loud applause lies mainly relief: after weeks of political struggle, the new president of Hungary has been elected
- Centre-left Taipei Times: Orban critic expected to be president
- Centre Telex: Zelensky on the election of Baka András: Another important step in the renewal of Hungary
- Centre Telex: We cannot build the new Hungary on revenge, András Baka's first speech on video
- Centre Telex: The gazette is out: Hungary has a new president from August 19
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.