Jobbik to join the European People’s Party?

The victories on the municipal elections show that Jobbik did not disappear, but it is still a strong Hungarian opposition party. Márton Gyöngyösi, Jobbik’s single member of the European Parliament (MEP) and vice-chairman of the party, talked about their plans on an international press conference.

Mr Gyöngyösi was elected MEP 3 months ago, is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and a substitute member in the Committee on International Trade which he regards a considerable success. About the European parliamentary elections, he said that those political forces could gain support who had a clear, polarising message. Fidesz was talking about migration and sovereignty while Democratic Coalition and Momentum emphasised that they would like to create a federal Europe. Furthermore, they were able to bring up new faces, and this is the reason for their success. Meanwhile,

Jobbik did not have a new face

and stood somewhere in the middle, saying that they want deeper integration but only if some conditions are fulfilled. For example, if the EU starts to deal with the wage differences between the Western and the Eastern member states. He emphasised that it cannot be accepted if a country’s economy is built on cheap labour like in the case of today’s Hungary. The competitiveness of the Hungarian companies must be increased, and the brain-drain from the country must be stopped.

Gyöngyösi said that the results of the municipal elections are evidence that Jobbik did not disappear. Sadly, it is still weak in Budapest, but it has strong candidates in the country: never before happened that Jobbik members gained the opportunity to lead county towns as mayors. This signs that Jobbik can organise campaigns and that

the party is “back in the game.”

Furthermore, the results of the election also show that Jobbik has concluded the process of becoming a people’s party, meaning that even leftist voters would choose it if that is the way of defeating Fidesz. He added that what comes after the victories in the municipal elections regarding local cooperations is an excellent test before the 2022 parliamentary elections.

Finally, the municipal elections also showed that the Hungarian people are not afraid of the government. For example, foreign minister Péter Szijjártó blackmailed the residents of Jászberény that if they do not choose the candidate of Fidesz, the government cannot guarantee new employment in the town. Even so, yesterday

Jobbik’s Lóránt Budai won a landslide victory in Jászberény.

Talking about the European Parliament, Mr Gyöngyösi said that he would like to cooperate with other opposition MEPs and even MEPs of Fidesz in such significant issues as the wage union, reforming of the EU’s cohesion policy or the autonomy of the Hungarians living abroad.

He said that Jobbik is now a centre-right party that can to build bridges with even the leftist Democratic Coalition. He also said that if

Fidesz – that is already isolated within the European People’s Party –

leaves it, Jobbik would join.

Gyöngyösi said that the hearing of the Hungarian commissioner candidate for enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, will be on Thursday but he sees no chance that the Committee on Foreign Affairs approves him.

Regarding the state of the Roma community in Hungary, he said that the biggest problems are corruption, vote-buying and the fact that

their leaders constantly betray them.