Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
A scandal over a pardon in a child sex abuse cover-up has landed Hungary's prime minister in his tightest political spot in over a decade. Viktor Orbán, whose pro-Putin tendencies have infuriated European friends of Ukraine, was forced at the weekend to announce a package of new child-protection laws having already accepted two top-level resignations, including that of Hungary's president. Ex-President Katalin Novak stood down last week after signing the pardon of an official convicted of covering up sex crimes at a state-run orphanage. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Budapest on Friday, when one speaker said the orphanage case was the tip of an iceberg of "systemic problems". A majority of voters still backs Orbán, though. His Fidesz party could lose 8 per cent of its vote share in forthcoming parliamentary elections, and still win easily.