Hungary president pressured to quit over plagiarism row

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt came under growing pressure to stand down after being accused of plagiarising parts of his doctoral thesis, which critics say threatens the integrity of his office.His role is largely ceremonial but Schmitt has had an instrumental role in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s reforms, signing controversial legislation such as retroactive taxes and a $14 billion pension grab into law without once raising a veto.Schmitt, 69, a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning fencer, became president in 2010 when Orban’s ruling conservative Fidesz party elected him for a period of five years.He has denied wrongdoing since business news portal hvg.hu first reported allegations in January that he had copied large parts of his thesis from other authors without proper quotation or referencing.But national news agency MTI reported on Thursday that Budapest’s Semmelweis University had proposed that Schmitt’s doctorate be withdrawn based on the findings of its inquiry into the allegations. A final decision is expected later.The leading right-leaning daily Magyar Nemzet called on Thursday on Schmitt to resign, saying his position had become untenable.“It is our belief that his staying is also against his own interests,” the paper wrote in an editorial. “This is a losing battle. The destruction of the institution and the crumbling of faith in an honourable public life cannot be stopped like this.”