Hungarian President Ader recommends Orban as PM

Hungary’s President Janos Ader has recommended that lawmakers re-elect Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This would be his third consecutive term and fourth overall. Ader, speaking Tuesday during the first parliamentary session after the national election, also urged lawmakers to amend election laws, in part to weed out small parties which he suggested ran only to gain access to state funds. Orban’s Fidesz party and a small ally won 133 of 199 seats in the national assembly in the April 8 election, securing a two-thirds majority. This will allow them to amend the constitution unchallenged. The date of the lawmakers’ vote on Orban has yet to be determined.