One Fifth of Hungarians Welcome Right Wing Extremism!

Demand for far-right extremism in Hungary more than doubled between 2003 and 2009, shows Political Capital Institute’s Demand for Right-Wing Extremism (DEREX) Index. This makes Hungary the second most willing European Union country after Bulgaria to embrace right-wing doctrines. In wake of April’s parliamentary elections, Hungarian right-wing party Jobbik seems to be profiting from demand for rightist extremism, gaining voters from the pool of 700,000 yet undecided people within the voting age, a Szonda Ipsos poll shows, published by Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag last Friday. Jobbik currently has 7% support among all voting-age Hungarians, and its dedicated supporters are the most active in their political commitment among all parties. For comparison, opposition center-right Fidesz party, Jobbik’s largest competitor, has 32% support, while the socialist MSZP party, which currently governs, has 14%. Rising demand for right-wing extremism is not a Hungary-only phenomenon: Bulgaria has the highest demand for right-wing extremism among European Union member states, with 25% of the population, Political Capital Research Director Peter Kreko told Dow Jones Newswires. Ukraine and Greece aren’t far behind either, with high levels of “distrust, fear and pessimism,” and “right-wing value orientation,” two of the four sub-categories of the index.

In Eastern Europe, prejudice and anti-Gypsy attitudes are closely linked to opposing the political system, distrust and general malaise, the study said. It also warned that this combination may pose a major threat to institutional stability. Hungary fits well into the regional picture in this respect: anti-establishment attitudes sky-rocketed from 12% to 46% of the population between 2003 and 2009 due to striking dissatisfaction with political institutions and democracy itself, the study said. The results are stupefying, and a turn in trends won’t likely come before society faces and works through its past, and the state itself creates institutional, regulatory and legal boundaries to stop the almost uncontrollable spread of far-right organizations. The current government has so far only taken futile — or, better said, inefficient — steps. It’s also time for Fidesz to change its message and stop its potential voters from joining Jobbik.
The Wall Street Journal