Jobbklikk, a group linked to deputy prime minister Tibor Navracsics and Fidesz MP László L. Simon, said Schmitt should resign immediately in order to preserve the prestige of the president’s office.

Other Fidesz politicians were more cautious. Orbán said during an interview “under the Hungarian Basic Law the person of the president is inviolable and I adhere to that”.

Fidesz caucus leader János Lázár said one must be circumspect in the matter, while government spokesman András Giró-Szász declared that the issue of Schmitt’s doctoral dissertation does not affect the government.

A cabinet member speaking anonymously told Népszabadság that “Schmitt ought to have resigned much earlier,” adding that the president had his last opportunity to step down with dignity on Wednesday evening.

Other governing party officials agreed with Thursday’s editorial in Magyar Nemzet which called on Schmitt to resign. They said to the best of their knowledge the comment was published without the daily having received any prior signal from Fidesz.

Socialist president Attila Mester­házy, recalling reports that several people in Fidesz had warned the prime minister against appointing Schmitt in 2010, said it is the party’s duty to correct Viktor Orbán’s mistake.

Jobbik spokeswoman Dóra Duró said it is not Fidesz, but the wrath of the people that will remove Schmitt. The question now is who will be his successor, she told reporters."

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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