Hungary looks set to swing right in polls

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Hungarians are voting in the first round of parliamentary elections, with opinion polls predicting a sweeping victory by the right. The centre-right Fidesz party - narrowly beaten by the Socialists in the last election in 2006 - could take more than 60%, the latest poll said.

The far-right Jobbik party also looks set to capture seats in parliament for the first time.

Some previously Socialist voters have transferred their allegiance to Jobbik, saying they will better defend Hungarian interests, says the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest.

Jobbik, known for its anti-Semitic and anti-Roma (Gypsy) rhetoric, has risen from nowhere in the last few years, gaining almost 15% of Hungarian votes in European elections last year. Polls suggest Jobbik could even push the Socialists into third place.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8614101.stm

[Lithos]

1. In addition to being far-right

Jobbik also likes to dress up, march around and wear the occasional arm band.



They openly admire Hitler and represent the modern generation of the same Fascist/Nazi leadership which Hitler installed.

[pattmarty]

2. Oh great! Wait till the teabaggers see these outfits. They'll be................

...............placing orders for their "costumes".

[nyy1998]

3. For a split second, I though I saw an army of penguins.

The Penguins are coming!

[naaman fletcher]

4. LOL, thats what I saw too. nt.

[No Elephants]

11. What? They ran out of brown dye?

[Judi Lynn]

5. Hungary elections: first step to power for far-Right since Nazi era

Source: Telegraph

Hungary elections: first step to power for far-Right since Nazi era
The far-Right is poised to take parliamentary seats for the first time since the Second World War, in Hungary's national elections.

Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels
Published: 7:39PM BST 11 Apr 2010

http://i.telegraph.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01609/vona2_1609416c.jpg

Jobbik Rally Dunakeszi Hungary. Members of Magyar Garda (Hungarian Guard)
watch over supporters at the rally Photo: AARON TAYLOR

Fidesz, Hungary's centre-right party, is expected to sweep out the unpopular Socialist government and Jobbik, a far-right party is predicted to take second place after Sunday's elections.

Hungary's largest Jewish organisation warned that the vote was "the first occasion that a movement pursuing openly anti-Semitic policies" has taken a step to power since the Nazi era.

Hungary's election gains for Jobbik follow a upsurge in support for the far-Right across Europe.

Last month, French regional elections, dominated by debates over immigration, saw electoral revival for the National Front. In June, Dutch elections could propel Geert Wilders, whose anti-Islamic, hard-right Freedom Party leads the polls, into power.



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/hungary/7578561/Hungary-elections-first-step-to-power-for-far-Right-since-Nazi-era.html

[saigon68]

6. Scary

They must have left their hoods outside

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Article updated: fascists a close 3rd behind the socialists

centre-right way out in front:

Fidesz, Hungary's centre-Right party, won 52.77 per cent of the vote, based on 99 per cent of votes counted, in a blow to the Socialist government.

Jobbik, a far-Right party, gained entry into parliament for the first time after winning 16.71 per cent of votes, behind the ruling Socialists who took 19.29 per cent.
...
The Guards, founded by Mr Vona, have polarised Hungary by staging a series of marches against "gypsy crime" through small countryside towns and villages with large Roma communities. An unprecedented series of Roma killings in 2008 and 2009 claimed six lives in several villages.
...
A recent copy of the party's weekly newspaper showed a statue of Saint Gellert, a Hungarian national, holding a menorah, a ceremonial Jewish candelabrum, instead of the cross. The picture's caption said: "Is this what you want?".

And the leader of Jobbik intends to wear the banned uniform of the 'Guards' to parliament. They're the real deal - genuine fascists.

[Q3JR4]

8. Secondhand this is what I've heard.

I have a friend who recently married a man who hails from the country of Hungary. Until they became defunct in the state, she was on the steering committee for the Green Party. She calls her representative in congress nearly once a week complaining about their lack of movement on whatever particular issue she's worried about at that point in time. She's a died in the wool feminist with socialist leanings who advocates for same-sex marriage, the right to choose, national healthcare, and volunteers with various liberal or liberal leaning organizations.

Here's the catch. She's visited her husband's native lands many times in the past six years, and has had a chance to talk with the politically minded individuals who live there. About a year ago she told me that based on what she'd heard, and what people have told her, that she considers herself to be Center-Right as far as Hungarian politics go.

So I dunno if this is really a bad thing...?

Q3JR4.

To be perfectly clear, though, the far right are out and out crazies.

[jgraz]

9. Well, the first step in Europe

We beat them by 10 years.

[boppers]

10. Tons about them on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_a_Better_Hungary

From the talk page there, it looks like these guys are making quite the mess of things.

[No Elephants]

12. Memo to Hungary: Trust me, you'll regret this.

How any nation could consider going right after observing how far America has fallen since Reagan is beyond me.

Memo to America: That goes for you, too.

[pampango]

13. NY Times:"Hungarian Right, Center and Far, Make Gains"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/world/europe/12hungary.html?src=me

Hungary’s center-right opposition party won first-round parliamentary elections here on Sunday, while a far-right party, whose black-clad paramilitary extremists evoke the Nazi era, made significant gains.

With 99 percent of votes counted, the ruling Socialist party conceded defeat to the Fidesz party of a former prime minister, Viktor Orban. Fidesz won 52.8 per cent of the vote, followed by 19.3 per cent for the Socialists and 16.7 per cent for the far-right Jobbik party — a better showing than any far-right party in Hungary since the fall of Communism in 1989. The success of the party, which has railed against “Gypsy crime” and Jews, threatens to tarnish Hungary’s international image and, some analysts say, could undermine its economic recovery from the hard hit it took in the global financial crisis.

Jobbik’s leader, Gabor Vona, 32, is a former history teacher who tapped into a growing nationalism fanned by economic hardship. He is a founding member of the Magyar Garda, an association whose uniforms are reminiscent of those worn by the Arrow Cross, Hungary’s wartime Nazi party. The group, which was outlawed last year but has not disbanded, has revived dark memories of World War II, when Jews and Roma were deported to concentration camps.

Analysts said Jobbik’s growing popularity illustrates how the economic crisis was helping to fuel a regional backlash against minorities, as people look for someone to blame. In Hungary, at least five Roma have been killed in the past two years and Roma leaders have counted about 30 firebomb attacks against their people’s homes.

[Zynx]

14. If Jobbik is ever included in a government in Hungary, we should withdraw our ambassador.

[Dutch]

15. Fidesz winning is a good thing

The Hungarian "Socialists" are nowadays pretty much free-market extremists, and as such have done a lot of damage in government. Fidesz certainly aren't in any sense progressive, but they are probably to the left of the socialists in economic terms.

Obviously no silver lining can or should be put on Jobbik's success.