Hungary's ruling party could nominate MEP Trocsanyi for president - paper

Hungary's ruling Fidesz party could nominate MEP and former justice minister Laszlo Trocsanyi to succeed Janos Ader as president in 2022, daily newspaper Nepszava reported on Thursday citing unnamed Fidesz sources. A government spokesman said the government "would not comment on press reports".

Hungary's ruling Fidesz party could nominate MEP and former justice minister Laszlo Trocsanyi to succeed Janos Ader as president in 2022, daily newspaper Nepszava reported on Thursday citing unnamed Fidesz sources.

A government spokesman said the government "would not comment on press reports". Fidesz's press office was not immediately reachable for comment. Ader, a lawyer and long-time member of Orban's rightwing Fidesz, has been a strong ally of Orban since being elected for the largely ceremonial role of president in 2012. His mandate expires in May 2022.

Career politician Ader had provided Orban with solid backing apart from occasional road bumps with some of Orban's controversial reforms in the past nine years. Trocsanyi, 65, is a renowned international lawyer. He was proposed by Orban for the post of commissioner for EU enlargement in the European Commission in 2019 but his nomination was rejected by the EU parliament's legal affairs committee, citing conflicts of interest.

Orban faces possibly tightly contested elections in April 2022, when he will seek reelection for the third time in a row. Nepszava said the new president would be elected by parliament before the elections. Under the constitution, a new president must be elected at least 30 days but maximum 60 days before the mandate of the incumbent ends.

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