page_title: 2017 Hungarian presidential election
section_title: Fidesz–KDNP
hierarchical_section_title: 2017 Hungarian presidential election / Candidates / Fidesz–KDNP
caption_attribution_description: English: Janos Ader, Hungarian lawyer and politician, who currently serves as President of Hungary since May 10, 2012.
context_page_description: An indirect presidential election was held in Hungary on 13 March 2017. János Áder was elected President of Hungary for a second term.
context_section_description: In contrast to Schmitt, who during his presidency of almost two years did not send any bill which had been voted on by the National Assembly back for consideration by the legislature, nor submit any to the Constitutional Court for judicial review, János Áder proved to be a counterweight to the Orbán government on a number of important issues. For instance, he sent the proposed voter-registration plan to the Constitutional Court for preliminary legal review in December 2012. A month later the court ruled that the law curtailed voting rights to an unjustifiable degree, because the requirement for voters to register before going to the polls applied to every voter. Following that, the cabinet withdrew the election procedures bill. In May 2015, Áder refused to sign the new land law which was intended to pass the right of management of national parks to the National Land Fund Managing Organization (NFA). Áder also used his veto power in March 2016 on the controversial bill which would have declared public funds allocated to the foundations of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) as "private funds".
  By contrast, Áder signed the controversial fourth amendment of the constitution. "It is my unequivocal constitutional duty to sign and declare this constitutional amendment as law. This is regardless of whose tastes the changes meet and regardless of whether I like it or not", he defended his position. Left-wing liberal journalist Gábor Miklósi (Index.hu) summarized Áder's presidency with the argument that the president remained silent on the really important matters and "his rare criticism does not hinder but legitimizes Hungary's increasingly authoritarian political system".
  Despite Miklósi's remarks, the above disagreements, primarily the rejection of electoral registration and the reclassification of MNB public funds, were serious political setbacks for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who, as a result, seriously considered the replacement of Ádár by a more obedient candidate in the 2017 presidential election. Pro-government portal Origo.hu, citing anonymous sources from the Fidesz leadership, wrote in April 2016 (a month after Áder refused to countersign the MNB law) that Áder's dismissal after the expiry of his mandate in May 2017 was "almost certain". The website noted that Orbán personally opposed Áder's nomination, and wanted a non-politician in his place, for instance academics József Pálinkás or Szilveszter E. Vizi. In May 2016, Hír TV's microphone recorded a short conversation between György Rubovszky (KDNP), Chairman of the Justice Committee, and Imre Vas (Fidesz), the committee's deputy chairman. Rubovszky told his colleague that there was no way to re-elect Áder in 2017 as "Viktor [Orbán] does not allow it".
  On 8 December 2016, the opposition ATV claimed that Calvinist pastor and Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog had been selected by Orbán and the party leadership as successor to Áder as President of Hungary. The news portal added that the passive attitude of Áder during the October 2016 migrant quota referendum campaign was also harmful for the "relationship of trust" between him and Orbán. ATV also referred to the government's dilemma: was it appropriate to elect a Calvinist President (Balog), with the incumbent Prime Minister (Viktor Orbán) and House Speaker (László Kövér) also belonging to that ecclesiastical community, despite Hungary's Catholic majority? Balog refused to comment on press reports. In contrast to ATV, Fidesz-backed Origo.hu reported three days later that Áder would remain as President despite such "serious candidates" as Balog and Barnabás Lenkovics, a former President of the Constitutional Court. The news portal added that re-election was a decision only for Áder, who had asked for time to consider his candidature. After a long conservation with Kövér, Áder telephoned Orbán to say that for his part, he was willing to undertake a second presidential term, ATV wrote. On 21 December, ATV reported that Orbán had requested from the party leadership the official nomination of János Áder as president, 
caption: János Áder in April 2012
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