By Krisztina Than
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's prime minister will try to select a president as pliant and loyal as his ally Pal Schmitt, who quit because of a plagiarism scandal that critics say undermined the post and dented the ruling party's support.
The opposition Socialists have called for an independent candidate to restore prestige to the largely ceremonial presidency but Prime Minister Viktor Orban is unlikely to heed them, mindful that the new leader will be in office until after a parliamentary election due in two years.
Orban's Fidesz party enjoys a two-thirds majority in parliament, meaning his selection should pass easily, but he may have to tread carefully to avoid further angering a public which is struggling with rising prices and spending cuts.
He also has to convince foreign lenders to have confidence in extending new aid to central Europe's most indebted country.
Leading tabloid Blikk ran the headline "The End" on its front page alongside a photo of visibly shaken Schmitt in parliament on Monday. The rival tabloid Bors said: "Schmitt has gone, the system stayed."
Analysts said they doubted whether Orban would diverge from a tried and tested policy - to appoint loyalists to key posts.
He may, however, look for a candidate with stronger ideological ties to Fidesz than Schmitt, an Olympic fencing gold medalist who was appointed in 2010 to popular acclaim.
He quickly became Hungary's least popular president since the collapse of communism, criticised by some for rubber-stamping Orban's new laws which the European Union say concentrate power in his conservative government's hands.
"We cannot expect a change in Fidesz' presidential nomination practice in the sense that it seeks a nominee who will be loyal (to the party), who takes a supportive role, as that would serve Fidesz' interests," said Orsolya Szomszed, a political analyst at conservative think tank Nezopont Intezet.
"The most important is (also for Fidesz) that the new president should restore confidence in the institution of the president of the Republic."
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The 69-year-old Schmitt had defended his 1992 doctoral thesis on the modern Olympics since January, when news portal hvg.hu reported allegations that he had copied large parts of it from other authors without proper quotes or referencing.
Budapest's Semmelweis University stripped him of his doctorate late last month, saying it did not meet scientific and ethical standards.
On Monday, Schmitt, who had promised to write another thesis to prove he could, told parliament it was his duty to resign when "my personal issue divides my beloved nation rather than unites it".
Parliament has 30 days to elect a successor. Speaker Laszlo Kover, a Fidesz party loyalist, will serve as interim president.
Analysts said if Schmitt had continued to refuse to resign, the scandal may have hurt Fidesz's popularity, which an opinion poll last month said trumped that of the Socialists by about 10 percentage points. Hundreds of protesters called for his resignation on Saturday.
Orban has managed to use the EU's criticism of his policies, including a new constitution, to his advantage, making clear he would not allow Hungary be dictated to by foreign powers.
Lajos Kosa, a vice chairman of Fidesz told TV2 television on Tuesday that Orban would consult the party's leadership, its deputies and the government before naming his nominee.
"When he has collected the ideas and proposals that can play an important role in the nomination, he should make a proposal for a candidate at a party meeting on (April 16)," Kosa said.
Local website Origo.hu, citing Fidesz sources, reported that Orban had said the new candidate should be a party politician, who could defend the new constitution passed last year.
It said a possible candidate could be Fidesz MEP Janos Ader, 52, a lawyer who has held key posts in the party and has been close to Orban since the party's foundation.
Another strong candidate could be the house speaker, 52-year-old Kover. He is very close to the prime minister and holds strong anti-communist views.
Eurasia Group said the new president's role could become more important after the 2014 election.
"While Orban's replacement for Schmitt remains unclear, the eventual nominee will certainly be close to Fidesz and to Orban personally," the think tank said.
"While Schmitt's resignation will have no near-term effect on policy, there are medium-term political implications that become especially important should Fidesz lose its majority at the next elections in 2014."
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
