Jobbik initiates parliamentary day of debate on capital punishment

Budapest (MTI) – The radical nationalist Jobbik party will initiate a day of debate in parliament about the reintroduction of capital punishment, party leader Gabor Vona said on Friday.

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Vona told a May Day event in northern Budapest that international treaties would pose no obstacle to that move but there are even some Jobbik members who oppose the death penalty. He called the death penalty justifiable, citing the recent brutal murder of a shop assistant in Kaposvar in southwest Hungary and the murder of an 11-year old boy near the same city in 2012.

Vona said Hungary would be unable to leave the European Union with immediate effect because a move like that would drive it into bankruptcy.

Concerning the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the US, he criticised the government for “not making a fuss” about the possibility of large US companies “stripping Europe”. Vona accused the EU of inertia and said that he would ask all parties in central and eastern Europe to cast their differences aside and act together in changing the EU’s direction, for instance to protect markets in certain sectors.

Commenting on migration, he said Jobbik would support the government if it indeed takes action in this area. He said Hungary needs no refugees at all but it should make preparations for granting safe haven to ethnic Hungarian asylum-seekers from Ukraine.

If Jobbik comes to power, job creation will be in focus but those who do not work should not expect extra support, Vona said.

In response to a question about “Gypsy-Hungarian coexistence” he said the problems were not based on ethnicity but resulted from large social groups choosing a lifestyle that is not in line with the law. The dispute should start from this point, he added.

Commenting on Jobbik’s efforts to become a people’s party, Vona called it a principal aim to address the broadest possible social groups while retaining their original objectives. He said that Jobbik would refuse to enter a coalition with any of the current parties, and would try to govern even in minority. He criticised the ruling parties for attempting to hijack issues from Jobbik but then failing to act on them.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters