AJC: Jobbik's Electoral Result a Setback for Hungary

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Apr 07, 2014, 01:05 ET

NEW YORK, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An increase in voter support for Hungary's Jobbik party is deeply worrisome, observed AJC. The radical, right-wing party, founded in 2003, is infused with hatred, targeting especially Jews and Romas.

"Jobbik's rise and potential influence are profoundly troubling," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "When more than one in five voters in Hungary, a NATO and EU member, opts for an unabashedly extremist party, alarm bells should be going off."

An EU survey released last year reported that 48 percent of Hungarian Jews have considered emigrating in reaction to growing anti-Semitism in the country.

Jobbik, Hungary's third largest political party, won more than 20 percent of the vote in Sunday's national elections. It will have 23 seats in the 199-seat Parliament. Jobbik won 16 percent of the vote in 2010.

The continuing appeal of Jobbik also portends potential gains for the party in next month's elections for the European Parliament. Analysts consider Jobbik the strongest of the extreme right-wing parties in Europe.

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee