Of course, that's only to be expected when a high public office changes hands. But it's misleading to regard László Sólyóm's planned active role as the real novelty. Sólyom's predecessors frequently explored the further limits of their power, sometimes even going beyond the legal limits. The real difference lies in Sólyom's political status.

The two previous presidents could easily be fitted into a party framework. It was no secret that Árpád Göncz had the support of the current government parties, and that Ferenc Mádl was backed by the parties that are currently in opposition. And this lead to a certain disproportionality. The President of the Republic is meant to symbolise the essential unity that lies above party politics. But previous presidents regularly broke this unwritten rule, even if in a most civilised way. When they sympathised with the ruling party, they tried to minimise their conflicts with the government. If they were opposed to the party in government they acted as a counterweight, whether intentionally or not.

In many democracies, the post of head of state is a political prize. Where the president is chosen by the ruling majority, it is natural that the president be a party politician, and there is no expectation that he discard his political colours. But in our country, it was always emphasised that presidential power was of an "anti-political" nature - but paradoxically, nobody ever even thought of choosing a genuinely independent president. Even now, it was only the weakness of the governing parties that made it possible for Sólyom to be elected. And so now there's a possibility that the presidential office will become a politically sovereign actor. Let's not decide just yet whether this is a good or a bad thing.

Fidesz regarded Sólyom's election as its personal triumph. But maybe it's more Szili's failure - is Sólyom's election so good for Orbán and his friends? If Fidesz wins next year, then they might be far better off with Katalin Szili in the Sándor Palace. If she tried to stand in the boys' way, then she could have been demonized as Göncz was. But if Sólyom is genuinely independent, and if he criticises both this government and the next, then it will be hard to paint him as a bolshevik traitor.