Transforming the Transformation? by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-317-54938-3
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

Jobbik: a rising star to reverse the stolen transition

In October 2003 a new party was officially founded under the name Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom).2 In 2006, with the leadership of Dávid Kovács, Jobbik ran on a joint ticket with MIÉP, gaining less than 3 percent of the vote, which finally resulted in the break-up of the alliance. The failure of this short-lived electoral coalition led to the complete marginalization of MIÉP as well as the rise of Jobbik, with their newly elected leader, Gábor Vona. In the October 2006 municipal elections, Jobbik could send some representatives to municipalities; in some cases, in alliance with other right-wing forces. But the moment of Jobbik’s eventual breakthrough came at the end of 2006, following a public outcry after the lynching of a teacher by a group of Roma in Olaszliszka.3 Jobbik launched its campaign against ‘gypsy crime,’ tapping into popular prejudice against Hungary’s Roma minority. Jobbik is the most successful far-right party to emerge in Hungary in the last two decades. It became the standard largest political party in Hungary, and is one of the most successful representatives of this party family in Central and Eastern Europe. Its ideology is strongly nationalistic, combining opposition to capitalism and liberalism (the results of the transition) with anti-Semitic and anti-Roma rhetoric.

The rise of Jobbik, from 2006 on, posed an unprecedented challenge to the ‘one camp, one flag’ strategy of Fidesz. However, Orbán continued this strategy and emphasized that it was the best way to protect democratic practices from those who threatened them, as he pointed out in an interview with the periodical Manager Magazin in 2007:

There’s no need to criticize the fact that right- and left-wing parties are trying to integrate radical voters, even though these parties’ policies are otherwise centrist. From a societal point of view, I see this as a benefit. It prevents Hungary from looking like other countries where radical forces are cropping up on both the right and the left. God only knows how long these can be kept below the 20% level or how long they can exist within the framework of Europe’s democratic traditions.

(Orbán 2007a)

Jobbik politicians, on the other hand, clearly tried to distance themselves from the transition generation of politicians, calling themselves the ‘2006 generation’ in contrast to the ‘1989 generation’ (Kuruc.info 2012), and the fall of 2006 was the ‘point of awakening’ for the radical right, as the riots of far-right groups on the streets allowed it maximum public visibility for the first time.4

The riots, and the way the Gyurcsány government and its police suppressed them, helped to significantly strengthen both the radical right (which was able to benefit a great deal from its position as the ‘victim’) and Orbán, who had just lost the second election in a row. Peaceful protests started at Kossuth square in front of the Parliament building, leading to a permanent occupation for approximately two weeks, with the symbolic support of Fidesz politicians. Protesters and Fidesz politicians demanded the

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