Die Neue Zeit
9th April 2010, 14:26
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-08/hungary-s-bitter-voters-embrace-anti-capitalist-radical-party.html
By Edith Balazs and Zoltan Simon
April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Hungarys Jobbik party, which wants to drop free-market reforms and create armed guards to police the countrys gypsy minority, is enjoying the strongest support for a nationalist bloc since the country abandoned communism.
Jobbik is poised to win 17 percent of the vote in the April 11 election, according to a Median poll published today. That would give it 50 lawmakers in the countrys 386-seat parliament, the most for a nationalist group since the eastern European Union member became a democracy.
Jobbiks rise follows the countrys worst economic contraction in almost two decades and record-high unemployment after the Socialist government was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for a loan that came with harsh austerity strings attached. The party, which has existed for five years, has tapped into voter disgruntlement with government cuts and has capitalized on growing resentment against the Roma, or gypsy, population, political scientists say.
A strong showing by an extremist party could negatively impact tourism, the investment environment and even affect risks credit-rating agencies see in Hungary, Gergely Boszormenyi Nagy, a political analyst at Nezopont Intezet in Budapest, said in a phone interview today.
Jeopardize a Strong Government
The ruling Socialist Party, which has privatized key industries during its 12 years in power since 1990, has 17 percent support compared with 60 percent for former premier Viktor Orbans Fidesz party, according to the Median poll. Orban, who has accused the government of lying to disguise the size of the budget deficit, has signaled he will cut taxes and implement other policies to boost economic growth.
Growing support for Jobbik may erode the voter base of Fidesz and jeopardize the formation of a strong government, said Eszter Gargyan, an analyst at Citigroup in Budapest.
Ive always voted for the Socialists, but they left me bitterly disappointed, said Vera Sagvari, 47, a food vendor in Miskolc, 180 kilometers (112 miles) northeast of Budapest. Their promises of jobs, a better life were empty words. I became a Jobbik supporter because we need new answers. Capitalism and foreign investors wont help.
Hungary was the first European nation to seek an IMF-led loan after the credit crisis crippled its exports and choked investment. IMF demands for fiscal discipline exacerbated Hungarys recession and voters are blaming the Socialists, in power since 2002, for reducing state funding in parts of the economy including health care and education in reforms they say aggravated the crisis.
Populist Proposals
Jobbik first rose to prominence after ethnic tensions swelled in counties like Borsod in the northeast, which has Hungarys highest number of welfare recipients and the second- highest jobless rate. Voters in the region, which also has a large number of Roma, are backing Jobbik on promises to end what the party calls Roma crime. Jobbik says it will tackle crime by reviving the gendarmerie, disbanded after World War II for its role in deporting Hungarian Jews.
Among the populist proposals of Jobbik, many are in conflict with free markets and therefore we believe the market reaction to a stronger-than-expected result would be immediately negative, Gargyan said.
Most of Hungarys Roma, estimated at between 2 percent and 7 percent of the countrys 10 million people, live in the poorest areas and endure the highest rates of unemployment. Tension has been on the rise in Hungary, with serial killings that police say may have been racially motivated.
Fed Up
Jobbik in 2007 set up Magyar Garda, a group whose uniformed members marched in areas with large Roma populations under a flag similar to the one used by Hungarys Nazi-allied government in World War II. The group was banned in December 2008 for inciting fear among minorities but continued to hold rallies across the country.
Im fed up with Gypsies, the parasites of the nation, living large on our taxes and stealing everything they can get their hands on, said Janos Szigeti, a retired carpenter, who attended the Jobbik rally in Arnot, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Miskolc. At least Jobbik has the guts to call things by their names and stop gypsies rampaging across our country.
Ceased to Trust
Jobbik is also campaigning for the re-nationalization of companies sold to foreign investors in the 1990s, raising taxes for multinational companies and banks and barring foreigners from buying land. It blames parties like Fidesz and the Socialists, part of the countrys political landscape since the transition to democracy, for Hungarys economic problems.
Hungarians have ceased to trust the major political parties that have ruined the country, Jobbik Vice President Tamas Sneider said at a rally in the village of Arnot. They have sold the country for 100 billion forint to foreigners. The countrys in a state of complete slavery.
The shift in political taste may just mark a regular sea- change in Hungarys parliamentary landscape, according to some analysts.
Radical forces have gained momentum 15 to 20 years after each regime change in Hungary, said Ervin Csizmadia, a political scientist at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis in Budapest. The regime shifts reflect that people lost confidence and detached themselves from mainstream political parties.
By Edith Balazs and Zoltan Simon
April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Hungarys Jobbik party, which wants to drop free-market reforms and create armed guards to police the countrys gypsy minority, is enjoying the strongest support for a nationalist bloc since the country abandoned communism.
Jobbik is poised to win 17 percent of the vote in the April 11 election, according to a Median poll published today. That would give it 50 lawmakers in the countrys 386-seat parliament, the most for a nationalist group since the eastern European Union member became a democracy.
Jobbiks rise follows the countrys worst economic contraction in almost two decades and record-high unemployment after the Socialist government was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for a loan that came with harsh austerity strings attached. The party, which has existed for five years, has tapped into voter disgruntlement with government cuts and has capitalized on growing resentment against the Roma, or gypsy, population, political scientists say.
A strong showing by an extremist party could negatively impact tourism, the investment environment and even affect risks credit-rating agencies see in Hungary, Gergely Boszormenyi Nagy, a political analyst at Nezopont Intezet in Budapest, said in a phone interview today.
Jeopardize a Strong Government
The ruling Socialist Party, which has privatized key industries during its 12 years in power since 1990, has 17 percent support compared with 60 percent for former premier Viktor Orbans Fidesz party, according to the Median poll. Orban, who has accused the government of lying to disguise the size of the budget deficit, has signaled he will cut taxes and implement other policies to boost economic growth.
Growing support for Jobbik may erode the voter base of Fidesz and jeopardize the formation of a strong government, said Eszter Gargyan, an analyst at Citigroup in Budapest.
Ive always voted for the Socialists, but they left me bitterly disappointed, said Vera Sagvari, 47, a food vendor in Miskolc, 180 kilometers (112 miles) northeast of Budapest. Their promises of jobs, a better life were empty words. I became a Jobbik supporter because we need new answers. Capitalism and foreign investors wont help.
Hungary was the first European nation to seek an IMF-led loan after the credit crisis crippled its exports and choked investment. IMF demands for fiscal discipline exacerbated Hungarys recession and voters are blaming the Socialists, in power since 2002, for reducing state funding in parts of the economy including health care and education in reforms they say aggravated the crisis.
Populist Proposals
Jobbik first rose to prominence after ethnic tensions swelled in counties like Borsod in the northeast, which has Hungarys highest number of welfare recipients and the second- highest jobless rate. Voters in the region, which also has a large number of Roma, are backing Jobbik on promises to end what the party calls Roma crime. Jobbik says it will tackle crime by reviving the gendarmerie, disbanded after World War II for its role in deporting Hungarian Jews.
Among the populist proposals of Jobbik, many are in conflict with free markets and therefore we believe the market reaction to a stronger-than-expected result would be immediately negative, Gargyan said.
Most of Hungarys Roma, estimated at between 2 percent and 7 percent of the countrys 10 million people, live in the poorest areas and endure the highest rates of unemployment. Tension has been on the rise in Hungary, with serial killings that police say may have been racially motivated.
Fed Up
Jobbik in 2007 set up Magyar Garda, a group whose uniformed members marched in areas with large Roma populations under a flag similar to the one used by Hungarys Nazi-allied government in World War II. The group was banned in December 2008 for inciting fear among minorities but continued to hold rallies across the country.
Im fed up with Gypsies, the parasites of the nation, living large on our taxes and stealing everything they can get their hands on, said Janos Szigeti, a retired carpenter, who attended the Jobbik rally in Arnot, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Miskolc. At least Jobbik has the guts to call things by their names and stop gypsies rampaging across our country.
Ceased to Trust
Jobbik is also campaigning for the re-nationalization of companies sold to foreign investors in the 1990s, raising taxes for multinational companies and banks and barring foreigners from buying land. It blames parties like Fidesz and the Socialists, part of the countrys political landscape since the transition to democracy, for Hungarys economic problems.
Hungarians have ceased to trust the major political parties that have ruined the country, Jobbik Vice President Tamas Sneider said at a rally in the village of Arnot. They have sold the country for 100 billion forint to foreigners. The countrys in a state of complete slavery.
The shift in political taste may just mark a regular sea- change in Hungarys parliamentary landscape, according to some analysts.
Radical forces have gained momentum 15 to 20 years after each regime change in Hungary, said Ervin Csizmadia, a political scientist at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis in Budapest. The regime shifts reflect that people lost confidence and detached themselves from mainstream political parties.