Hungary elects new president

Hungary’s parliament today elected Pal Schmitt as the new president, replacing Laszlo Solyom, whose five-year term ends in August.

Mr Schmitt was nominated for the mainly ceremonial role by the governing centre-right Fidesz party. The diplomat and two-time Olympic fencing champion received 263 votes from lawmakers, more than the two-thirds majority of 258 needed to win the vote.

Andras Balogh, nominated by the opposition Socialist Party, received 59 votes.

Mr Schmitt, 68, was elected parliamentary speaker in May. In the 1980s, he was a high-ranking sports official in the communist regime.

Critics fear he will be too accommodating to Fidesz’s plans, including an overhaul of the country’s constitution.