Baku, May 2 (AZERTAC). On Thurday, the Hungarian parliament will elect a new president. The ruling Fidesz (Civic Union) party has a two-thirds majority and the election of its candidate, European Parliament deputy Janos Ader, is regarded as guaranteed. Ader is a close associate of Prime Minister Victor Orban. His assumption of the country’s highest office will invariably consolidate and advance the policies of Orban’s right-wing government.

Ader’s predecessor, Pal Schmitt, resigned a few weeks ago following accusations he had plagiarised his university doctorate thesis. Schmitt was a bland puppet of Orban who unstintingly abided by the demands made upon him by the government. In less than two years he underwrote no less than 360 new laws.

Revelations about the dubious nature of Schmitt’s thesis came at an extremely convenient moment for the government, which has seized the opportunity to place a more substantial figure into the presidential palace. Should upcoming parliamentary elections result in a removal of Orban’s current majority the president would then play a crucial role.

Ader made his political position clear immediately after his nomination. In a statement he declared he wanted to represent the whole Hungarian nation, and estimated the number of Hungarians at 15 million. This is a deliberate provocation against the country’s neighbours, in particular Slovakia. The Hungarian population totals 10 million inhabitants; the remaining 5 million consist of minorities in adjoining countries.

The election of Ader is expected to be the preamble to a major cabinet reshuffle. Growing tensions within the government reflect the country’s intensifying economic crisis that has led to conflicts with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The most likely victims in a reshuffle are Economics and Finance Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, Education Secretary Rózsa Hoffmann and her boss, the minister of “National Resources”, Miklós Rétheyli.

Orban is forced to make these changes in personnel because the government is under increasing pressure. Talks are planned in the next few weeks with the IMF and the EU Commission to decide on much needed financial aid for Hungary.

Thousands of families face foreclosure and eviction because they are unable to finance their mortgages, many of which are reckoned in foreign currency and can no longer be repaid. The Hungarian banks had already carried out around 5,000 foreclosures by mid-March.