Government Press Briefing Focuses on President Novák’s Resignation

The government has drawn its political conclusions from the case that has dominated the Hungarian public over the past two weeks, Gergely Gulyás said at Friday’s cabinet briefing, reported Magyar Nemzet.

The Minister responsible for the Prime Minister’s office reminded that the government has always placed a unique emphasis on family support and the protection of children over the past 14 years.

We have introduced the family loan system (CSOK), the baby allowance, tax relief for families with children and a full tax exemption for women with at least 4 children. We have doubled the number of nursery places and launched nursery school upgrades on an unprecedented scale. Meanwhile, regulation on pedophilia has also been tightened by the government,”

said Gergely Gulyás. He recalled that all this was done without the support of the Hungarian left-wing opposition parties, which attacked the government’s family support measures both at home and abroad.
He added that President Katalin Novák had done the lion’s share of work in family policy, while former justice minister Judit Varga had a role in tightening the penal code and the family protection laws.

Judit Varga and Katalin Novák did what had to be done in this situation,”

he said.

Gergely Gulyás also explained that the Prime Minister submitted the amendment to the Basic Law in order to make it clear that there is no mercy for such crimes. The Parliament may vote on the amendment submitted in the spring. The minister confirmed that pedophile offenses are open to further tightening, despite the fact that legislation in this area has already been tightened in the past.

As to whether it was necessary for the head of state and the minister to resign after the pardon decision, Gergely Gulyás said that they had taken note of the decisions, and that many people also held Judit Varga responsible for the decision to grant the pardon. It is standard practice for the Minister of Justice not to inform members of the government, so there was no consultation.

The government did not discuss clemency cases, so these cases were not brought before the government,

he added. The minister said that henceforth, whoever becomes president of the republic will treat their decisions as public.

As for the election of the new head of state, the minister reiterated that a new head of state could be elected within 3 days of the acceptance of the resignation, and that the method of election would not be changed. Gergely Gulyás said that everything that has happened confirms that even the most serious crimes on the political left have no consequences, and the fact that the former chairman of Momentum, who has been convicted this week on public disorder charged, is not resigning from his mandate shows this.

On the Brussels migration pact, the minister stated that the LIBE faction committee had decided that if a country did not accept migrants under quota, it would have to pay a substantial sum, which would have unacceptable consequences, and Hungary was therefore opposed to the end. The minister stressed that Hungary no longer accepts the principle of accepting foreigners and living with them.

The migration pact is dangerous for democracy, but the biggest problem is not the timing, but the fact that it imposes obligations on member states,

he added.

On border protection, he stated that migration is a growing problem in the western countries of the EU, which is why they say they are finally giving money for border protection, even though it is a tiny amount.

Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured Photo: MTI