22 December 2017

Politico: Hungarian left’s far-right dilemma

“Of course it’s sad that the second-largest opposition party is also a far-right party,” he said. But he argued that Jobbik was now “a moderate far-right party” — an assessment that chimes with Jobbik’s own efforts to recast itself as a milder alternative to Orbán. [...]

A survey last month by pollster Median found 39 percent of all adults — and 56 percent of those who know who they will vote for in the election — support Fidesz. Jobbik lies second, with the support of 11 percent of all adults and 15 percent of those who know how they’ll vote in the election, to be held in April or May. [...]

“Although we reject the redistribution of migrants in Europe on the basis of quotas determined by Brussels, we also warned the government of making statements that basically spark Islamophobia,” said Gyöngyösi. “We cannot go against a world religion … Moderate Islam is our ally in fighting extremism.”

Jobbik’s leaders also point to their recent support for embattled NGOs and the Central European University and their opposition to a government campaign against financier and philanthropist George Soros. They have also teamed up with trade unions to fight wage inequality between Western and Eastern Europe.

The party has even begun to distance itself from Western European right-wing Euroskeptic parties. Gyöngyösi says France’s National Front and the Alternative for Germany now have more in common with Fidesz than Jobbik.

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