Hungary Accused of Plagiarism, The Head of State Eventually Resigned

Accused of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis, the Hungarian head of state Pal Schmitt has finally bowed to pressure by announcing his resignation Monday to parliament, a departure deprives Prime Minister Viktor Orban of a controversial ally.
“Since according to the Constitution, the President shall represent the unity of the Hungarian nation and my people has unfortunately become synonymous with division, I feel that my duty was to separate me from my position,” said Mr. Schmitt to MPs.
In a resignation letter, one sentence, released after his speech, he wrote: “in the interests of Hungary and of national unity, I am resigning from my position as president of the republic”.
Parliament accepted his resignation, with 338 votes in favor, 5 against and 6 abstentions. Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover now provides the functions of Head of State ad interim.
Pal Schmitt, former fencing champion in 69 years elected head of state by the will of Viktor Orban in June 2010, had categorically ruled Friday yet to leave his post. And despite the many pressures including the camp of the ruling party, Fidesz, where he has never been universally accepted.
The Senate of Semmelweis University in Budapest Thursday had called for “plagiarism” his thesis on the history of the Olympics he had sustained 20 years ago and decided to withdraw his doctorate.
The thesis, much of which was copied, not responding “no scientific methods nor ethical”, argued the Senate.
An assertion rejected by Mr. Schmitt. Before the deputies, he assured to have “done an honest job” and held that the university had “no right” to withdraw his doctorate. He also announced its intention to prepare a new thesis topic as sports and environmental protection.
The opposition parties welcomed his resignation ends a damaging scandal in their view the image, already tarnished the country.
Hungary is the subject of international criticism for months because of several controversial laws Orban government, including media reform, or of the new Constitution accents undemocratic.
Mesterhazy Attila, president of the Socialists (MSZP), Fidesz asked to propose to the President Laszlo Solyom (right), who had held the post between 2005 and 2010 and whose moral integrity and professionalism are widely recognized.
Orban’s party is de facto decide the future new president to be elected to parliament by a two thirds majority, held by the Conservative party.
The chairman of the parliamentary group of Fidesz, Janos Lazar, however, announced having started “a consultation with opposition parties” on the process of appointing a new head of state.
For the leader of the far-right party Jobbik, Gabor Vona, the new president should be elected directly “by the people” because the damage is to function as “a mere change of mind will be insufficient”.
The Socialists have called for his election by a vote in parliament by a majority of four fifths.
The Hungarian weekly HVG revealed the case of plagiarism in early January with passages Pal Schmitt’s thesis appears as a text translation in French of a Bulgarian expert Nikolay Georgiev: “The resumption of work of Bulgarian Georgiev, 180 of 215 pages of the thesis of Pal Schmitt, is the suspicion of plagiarism. “
In 2011, Germany, a resounding case of plagiarism in an academic thesis was forced to resign the defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, then the rising political figure within the Christian Democrats (CDU-CSU).