Opinion in Die Presse: Jobbik’s transition into people party is genuine

Austria’s daily Die Presse published a guest commentary article on Jobbik’s transition into a people’s party. Sociologist István Teplán, founder and former vice rector of Central European University (CEU) wrote that Jobbik had genuinely embraced people’s party values and intended to become a non-discriminative movement, without which no government change was possible in Hungary.

According to Mr Teplán, Fidesz, an organization still young and democratic in name, is no longer young and certainly not democratic in reality. Hungary’s governing party did not even release an election manifesto; they base their campaign on inciting sentiments against migrants, Brussels and their own former supporter George Soros. Talking about the fragmented traditional leftist opposition, he said they were constantly losing popularity and were not likely to undergo a revitalization until a new generation takes over, which is quite improbable in the near future.

Mr Teplán also acted as the moderator of an international conference on the wage union concept, held in the European Parliament in Brussels on November 27.

Talking about the most promising candidates for Prime Minister in Hungary, Mr Teplán listed the “charismatic” Bernadett Szél, LMP’s co-president and Jobbik’s president Gábor Vona who had conducted a renewal of his party.

“After getting rid of its extremism (and extremists), Jobbik has become an increasingly realistic choice for active protest voters who want a change in government,” he wrote. He added that conservative, pro-left and liberal political analysts had all begun to realize that Jobbik, considering its much higher ratings than LMP, could potentially achieve a breakthrough in the upcoming elections. The sociologist also noted that the Hungarian government cannot be replaced without Jobbik.
“Which is the bigger threat: to solidify a Peronist Orbán regime under the wing of Putin’s Russia, or to see a people’s party Jobbik as a member of a government coalition?” he asked.

As Mr Teplán put it, Jobbik had genuinely embraced people’s party values and announced its intention to become a non-discriminative group, by following the motto of “seeking what binds us together rather than what separates us.”

In his guest commentary, the scientist wrote that Jobbik had apologized to those whom they may have offended before.

“They completely changed their position on Brussels and are actively establishing new international relations in order to reform the European Union. Contrary to PM Orbán’s anti-Brussels freedom fight, Jobbik is willing to accept a closer Union with stronger competencies as long as it serves Hungary’s best interests,” the sociologist stated.

Explaining the difference between the government’s and Jobbik’s approach, he said the former concentrated on stopping immigration whereas Jobbik intended to slow down the westward emigration of Hungarian workers. The sociologist’s article explains that Jobbik was the one to launch and spearhead the movement for a European wage union, a concept now enjoying the support of trade unions and NGOs in Hungary and across the EU alike.

“The Jobbik-launched European Citizens’ Initiative aims to reduce the unfair wage gap between the EU’s core and its periphery which is the main driver of the internal migration wave,” Mr Teplán emphasized.

He also added that the wage union initiative was going to enjoy popular support and might enhance Jobbik’s voter base. Discussing the party’s work in and out of Parliament, he said that Jobbik consistently supported all major opposition initiatives, including stricter measures to address violence against women; in contrast, Fidesz had been blocking these initiatives in each case. Mr Teplán pointed out that Jobbik had also supported the Constitutional Court’s review of the legislation designed to block the operation of the Central European University.

“I believe that Jobbik’s actions clearly show the party’s willingness to change even if there are still several steps to take,” the sociologist concluded.

Photo: facebook.com/vonagabor

Source: Die Presse