Katalin Novak, 46, resigned from her position as Hungary’s President after pardoning a man convicted of enabling and protecting child sex abuse in a state-run children’s home. The pardon led to a nationwide protest which culminated in the President’s resignation. It is the first time the nationalist government, in power since 2010 under PM Victor Orban, has shown any major weakness.
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Hungary’s conservative president resigned Saturday amid public outcry over a pardon she granted to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case, a decision that unleashed an unprecedented political scandal for the long-serving nationalist government.
Katalin Novak, 46, announced in a televised message that she would step down from the presidency, an office she has held since 2022. Her decision came following more than a week of public outrage after it was revealed that she issued a presidential pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of hiding a string of child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home.
“I issued a pardon that caused bewilderment and unrest for many people,” Novak said on Saturday. “I made a mistake.”