Hungary’s far right on verge of election gains
Krisztina Morvai, member of the European Parliament and presidential candidate of Jobbik, Hungary's far-right wing party, sits in front of members of the controversial Hungarian Guard.
The Associated Press
9 April 2010
BUDAPEST, Hungary — A far-right party in Hungary is on the verge of winning second place in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, appealing to those hard hit by the economic crisis and angry about the presence of Gypsies in the country.
If Jobbik becomes the main opposition party, it would mirror gains made by the far right across Europe in recent years.
From the Feuilletons
Die Welt 03.04.2010
The situation in Hungary looks very sinister indeed. Viktor Orban’s right-wing populist Fidesz Party is expected to win 60 percent in the general election on April 11th – with the far-right Jobbik party scooping a further 20. Hatred is constantly being stirred up against Jews, homosexuals, Roma and prominent intellectuals, the literary academic and writer Lazlo F. Földenyi tells Paul Jandl: “Not long ago a weekly paper published an article calling on the population to destroy the works of Imre Kertesz, Peter Esterhazy, Peter Nadas and György Konrad, to borrow their books from the libraries and destroy them. It was meant as some sort of book burning. This paper has close ties to Victor Orban. It is symptomatic of the mood in the country in general. Anyone who speaks critically about Hungary is branded a ‘nest fouler’. People know that these writers are held in high regard abroad and this makes them nervous. Even Orban recently made a speech in which he railed against the ‘star intellectuals’.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.