The Hungarian President Katalin Novak has granted clemency to a far-right extremist, Gyorgy Budahazy, just hours before the arrival of Pope Francis in Budapest for a three-day visit. The decision to grant the pardon has sparked controversy and threatens to overshadow the Pope's visit, which was intended to shore up Prime Minister Viktor Orban's international image.
Budahazy, who has folk-hero status among Hungary's far-right, played a radicalizing role in Orban's efforts to remove a center-left government before the nationalist premier returned to power in 2010. He was convicted for participating in attacks against the homes of ministers and ruling party members of the Socialist-Liberal coalition that governed from 2006 to 2010. Budahazy is also known for his anti-LGBTQ and anti-Semitic views.
The pardon has been condemned by opposition politicians and civil society groups, who argue that it sends the wrong message and undermines the rule of law. However, Novak defended her decision, stating that the Pope's visit was a special occasion for the head of state to exercise her right to issue pardons. She also pardoned a few of Budahazy's co-conspirators, after absolving others convicted of lesser crimes in the same case in December.
Orban's government has tried to use the Pope's visit to Hungary to boost his international image, particularly after confrontations with the US and the EU over the war in Ukraine and accusations of democratic backsliding. The Hungarian leader has sought to portray his stance as pro-peace, which he says is only shared in Europe by the Vatican.
The Pope's visit is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to a Mass outside Hungary's parliament on Sunday, where he will lead an invocation for peace in Ukraine. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, has said that the Pope is praying for a "just peace", with Russian troops withdrawing from Ukraine. However, the controversy over the pardon of a far-right extremist threatens to overshadow the visit and could damage the optics of the pontiff's trip.