Hungary’s President Katalin Novak quit on Saturday (Feb 10) amid public fury over her pardon of a man who helped hide a child abuse scandal at a state-run home.

Addressing the nation in a televised speech, Novak said, “I made a mistake… Today is the last day that I address you as president.” 

She admitted to granting a pardon in April, believing the convicted individual did not exploit the vulnerability of the children under his care. She, however, recognized the lack of reasoning behind the decision, and acknowledged doubts raised about the country’s zero-tolerance stance on pedophilia.

Earlier, protests had erupted in the capital Budapest, with scores of people demanding Novak’s resignation. 

Opposition parties had also called for her departure from office. 

The controversy arose when Novak pardoned several individuals, including the deputy director of a children’s home, just before a visit by Pope Francis in April 2023.

One of the pardoned individuals, Endre K, had been sentenced in 2022 to three years and four months in prison. Novak’s pardon allowed him to be set free.

Who is Katalin Novak?

Novak, an ally and former family minister of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was Hungary’s first female president and the youngest person to hold the office. Her resignation marked a rare moment of political turmoil for Orban’s nationalist governing party, Fidesz, which has maintained a constitutional majority since 2010.

Judit Varga, a prominent Fidesz member and ex-justice minister, resigned from politics in a Facebook post.

Varga, who was likely to head Fidesz’s list for the European Parliament, admitted her political fault for backing the disputed pardon.

Prime Minister Orban, without mentioning the Novak scandal, proposed a constitutional change to ban clemency for child abusers. In a Facebook video, he said that there will be “no leniency for pedophile criminals”