Steven N.
The public sees Katalin Novák (pictured) as more divisive than the current head of state, János Áder, reports Népszava based on a new poll by the Publicus Institute. In addition, three-quarters of Hungarians prefer a president that is independent and non-partisan.
Governing party Fidesz has nominated Novák as its candidate to replace departing President János Áder, and the former minister for families is expected to easily win the March 10 vote in Parliament to be Hungary’s next head of state. For its part, the united opposition also announced earlier this week that its nominee for the post was economist Péter Róna.
The Publicus poll also revealed that only 18% of the population think it is acceptable for Hungary’s president to be a faithful supporter of a single party. However, right-wing voters are much more tolerant of this notion, with 42% of them approving of it, while nearly all opposition supporters reject it. Even 83% of undecided party voters do not agree that the head of state should be strongly partisan.
Half of the respondents consider current President János Áder to be a divisive or slightly divisive politician, but 40% of them claim he has perfomed his duties in a way that have promoted unity. However, opposition sympathizers have a more mixed opinion of Áder, and practically none of MSZP’s voters evaluated his work positively, according to the poll. [HVG]
