Hungarian president defiant over plagiarism row

Pal Schmitt suffered the indignity of being stripped of his doctorate after a special committee set up by Semmelweis University, Mr Schmitt’s alma mater, concluded the president had copied large chunks of his 1992 thesis on Olympic history “word for word”, and condemned his “violation of scientific norms”.

But in a television interview broadcast last night the president argued the fault lay with his advisers and the examining committee. He claimed they had failed to bring the problems with his doctorate to his attention, and, if they had done so, he would have corrected the text.

The public humiliation of a man who is supposed to set a good ethical example has prompted Hungary’s political parties to set aside their caustic differences and unite in calls for his resignation. Attila Mesterhazy, the leader of the Socialist party, described Mr Schmitt as “unworthy of the office of president” while Dora Duro, a spokesman for the nationalist party, said if he tried to remain in office the “wrath of the people” would remove him. Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister and a close ally of the beleaguered president, remained more circumspect about Mr Schmitt’s future.

“Nobody except him can decide,” said Mr Orban. But in an indication that the president no longer enjoyed the support of the government and the ruling Fidesz party, an unnamed cabinet minister quoted by the newspaper Népszabadság said that “Schmitt ought to have resigned much earlier” and that the moment of him walking away with his dignity intact had passed.

The Hungarian presidency is a largely ceremonial role. The 69-year-old president denies cheating, and claimed to have used 21 sources and “the best of his own learning”. The scandal has drawn parallels with case of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German politician who resigned from his job as defence minister last year following revelations that he had plagiarised his doctorate thesis.