HUNGARY’S FAR-RIGHT Jobbik party appears poised to win its first seat in the European Parliament this weekend, capitalising on public disillusionment with many mainstream parties and fears over rising unemployment, crime and ethnic tension.
Surveys suggest Jobbik will come third in Sunday’s vote behind the expected runaway winner, the centre-right Fidesz opposition party, and the governing Socialists, whose support has plunged to an all-time low as Hungary slips into its deepest recession in two decades.
Polls predict Fidesz will take more than 35 per cent of the vote, with the Socialists claiming about 11 per cent and Jobbik 5 per cent – the minimum required to claim one of Hungary’s 22 seats in the European Parliament.
Research shows that some 40 per cent of Hungarians are still undecided about who to vote for on Sunday, but with the Socialists in disarray and small liberal parties putting little effort into campaigning, media coverage is focusing on Fidesz and the increasingly prominent Jobbik.
Jobbik depicts itself as a party of patriots that will defend Hungarian traditions and culture, reduce foreign influence on Hungary’s economy and cut crime – particularly the “Gypsy crime” which it claims is ravaging the country.
However, critics denounce Jobbik’s alleged racism and its affiliation with a paramilitary “self defence” group called the Hungarian Guard – whose members march through Roma areas in uniforms reminiscent of those worn by members of Hungary’s wartime fascist regime.
Several Gypsies have been killed and badly injured in recent attacks, but Jobbik and the Hungarian Guard deny claims that their rhetoric is fuelling racial hatred. “For us the most important thing is to stand up for Hungarian interests, finally to thump the table and say that Hungary belongs to the Hungarians,” said Krisztina Morvai, a lawyer who leads Jobbik’s election list.
“We want to represent the interests of Hungarian employees, Hungarian traders and Hungarian farmers, rather than trying to ingratiate ourselves with foreign interests and foreign great powers,” she said in an interview published on her party’s website.
If it enters parliament, Ms Morvai said Jobbik would join “one of the eurosceptic factions which will only form in the light of the election results”.
Some forecasts envisage that far-right parties across the continent could claim at least 25 of the European Parliament’s 736 seats, allowing them to create a formal voting bloc.
