The ELTE scandal is brewing, we show you the details.

Balázs Orbán, the prime minister's political director, is preparing to defend his doctorate at ELTE's Doctoral School of Government and Law. The political director can defend his PhD thesis, entitled The Constitutional Relations of the Free Mandate and National Sovereignty

However, it seems that it was not clear in the Academic Doctoral Council that the doctoral defense procedure for Balázs Orbán in political science and law would be initiated. The documents made public by the university (the interesting part is on page 20) show that only five of the 8-member board voted yes, two voted no, while one abstained.

The political director of the prime minister received the required vote, however, it can also be seen from the above-mentioned document that the evaluation committee made a unanimous decision for everyone else.

The "small kitchen" and the government's "dirty feet"

Gábor Polyák, head of the Department of Media and Communication at ELTE, attacked the Hungarian government and the political director preparing to defend his doctorate in a harsh Facebook post.

Balázs Orbán from Kisfő defends his PhD thesis at ELTE ÁJK. Really everything, but we deserve everything. The government wipes its dirty feet in ELTE every day

- writes the head of the department in his post. He then goes on to say that, in his opinion, ELTE is the worst funded university in Europe, whose students, lecturers and all employees are humiliated by the Hungarian government. "Despite all the lying campaigns of Balázs Hankó and his gang, [ELTE] is still one of the best Hungarian universities in all international rankings and competitions," said Polyák, who then addressed Balázs Orbán separately.

"And the faculty of law, where in principle the rule of law, human rights, and power sharing are discussed, does not tell a Balázs Orbán to go to the NKE. Balázs Orbán, the master of the lowest ideological incubator MCC, the almighty commander of the NKE, the apple of Nagyföny's eye, who can also deny '56 from history with impunity. Colleagues, where is the backbone? What kind of legal professional ethos is this, what kind of citizenship? Why do we show the darkest past as an example for future intellectuals? Why are we throwing up on our faces?” - continued the head of department, who ended his entry with the sentence:

As a university professor at ELTE, I ask myself that Balázs Orbán obtain a PhD degree at this institution.

So in summary:

From a professional point of view, Balázs Orbán's doctoral dissertation was fine, but for political reasons they still voted in favor of canceling it at ELTE, whose head of department posted about "vomiting in their faces" why Balázs Orbán could do his doctorate at them at all.

Anyway, what's going on here?

As for the facts: Balázs Orbán began his doctoral studies at ELTE before his political career - by the way, he also graduated summa cum laude here in 2009 -,

he submitted his dissertation in the appropriate manner and form, and successfully defended it in front of a relatively larger audience in a so-called narrower workplace debate.

Problematic dissertations are typically sifted out at this level; it is selected by your doctoral school, but where a problem is seen in the thesis, it is usually indicated here.

No one raised a substantive objection to Balázs Orbán's workplace debate, only supportive opinions were received, the unanimous opinion of the department was that the doctoral dissertation was appropriate and Balázs Orbán could enter the doctoral degree process.

All this, by the way, according to our information, the doctoral school paid particular attention to avoiding conflicts of interest in all areas, and when browsing the list of the review committee, even the name of Anna Unger, a political scientist who appears as an expert at Partizán and Szabad Európa Rádió, may catch your eye - i.e. Critics of Balázs Orbán's workplace debate would hardly be accused of positive bias.

Despite all this, the defense was successfully completed, with numerous oral and dozens of written supporting comments, and the opinions of the opponents were also favorable.

Then followed the aforementioned Doctoral Council decision. This step is usually purely formal and administrative, so it is strange that the decision was not unanimous, but there were two negative votes and one abstention.

Reactions

We show who and how they feel about the politically blindly biased post of a man of science in theory.

, sociologist Mária Vásárhelyi journalist Boróka Parászka won hearts but as a sign of support/agreement, there was interaction Krisztián Ungváry , the ubiquitous politician Katalin Lukácsi László Majtényi György Raskó, György Balavány who recently made headlines with the death of pensioners , several employees of Transparency International Hungary : From Gábor Gadó, József Martin From Péter, as well as Miklós Konrád (son of György Konrád), Zoltán Fleck , or Miklós Hargitai .

However, there were also more critical voices.

Political analyst and publicist Zoltán Ceglédi expressed his opinion that

ELTE entered into a quagmire in the matter, where professionalism is overridden by political affiliation. According to Ceglédi, the university essentially recognized that the decisive aspect for them is not the content and the form, but the author's political involvement.

Demeter Szilárd reacted to the incident in a vitriolic letter:

(...) Associate Professor Polyák only calls his colleagues to account in a professional matter as a militant activist and not as a representative of science, in the usual libnyaf orchestration, regarding the "lawyer's professional ethos and citizenship", Associate Professor Polyák, as a defeated opposition, rags on him for perceived or real grievances of the government based on

Associate Professor Polyák does not like the system, that is, Associate Professor Polyák leaves the academic discourse and makes politics out of things that should not be used if it is about academics to do a doctorate at ELTÉ. According to them, it's not about that.

There will also be a pedigree test, are you cool, what the hell, who did you like, who didn't you like, were you there at the party, if not, then you don't get a doctorate, to a labor camp with you. We have seen this before, when the intellectual ancestors of the head of the department, Mr. Polyák, were in power, it was not good. (Parental sign: as usual, the independent objective press also began to spread the philippics of Head of Department Mr. Polyák - and, as usual, with tacit approval. They cannot rise above the narrowed state of consciousness of the most cheerful barracks, their ideal of hero is an opposition journalist bent over the stencil machine, who sees everything through a red fog. They can really be serious, that the Internet should be printed for the intoxicated people of the countryside.)

In the same article, I read and quote: "444 previously wrote that, according to their information, Balázs Orbán's work was in order from a professional point of view, but principled problems arose in relation to it. Those who voted against opposed it because of a moral conflict of interest, in their opinion, ELTE is vulnerable to such a powerful politician, so they will not be able to judge the thesis objectively, fearing that in case of negative criticism, the university would face sanctions".

Well. Until now, I thought that the profession was not very capable of making compromises, because there is the profession with a capital letter, which dispenses with all kinds of everyday possible consequences, that is exactly what professionalism means.

If, for example, a tram driver were to get a doctorate, they would not take into account his tram driving skills, even though, according to this logic, it could also cost human lives.

If I were Balázs Orbán, after this I would reconsider whether I want to do a doctorate at a university where professionalism is so neglected. In the end, they can accuse him of not awarding the doctorate for his scientific and professional achievements, but on political grounds, and he can start all over again at a regular university, where they don't mix current politics with science.

ELTE's position statement

"The Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) regards the freedom of science as an unquestionable and unlimited value. This is the basis of its operation as a science university, as well as its research and teaching excellence, which can also be measured by international standards.

He also considers it an inseparable part of the freedom of science to judge scientific works and scientific achievements solely on the basis of their quality and not on the basis of the author's personality. ELTE also adheres to the institutional principle that university citizens with different thoughts, religions, political and ideological beliefs form an independent professional community in which there is no room for exclusion. ELTE dissociates itself from any expression that qualifies the professional work of the citizens of Eötvös Loránd University based on their political views and public involvement, or questions anyone's right to study or research at our university on political grounds.

ELTE rejects expressions that question the freedom of research and professional performance on political grounds or based on other exclusionary aspects. Extremist and discriminatory expressions on political grounds, even if they only reflect the individual position of some university citizens, cause serious damage to the University community and the institution."

Featured image: ajk.elte.hu