Jobbik on the brink of a split

As Jobbik expels radical right-wing László Toroczkai, two pro-government pundits wonder about the fate of Jobbik.

After the Jobbik leadership expelled the radical right-wing László Torockzai (see BudaPost June 1), several regional leaders of the party as well as Jobbik MP Dóra Dúró have announced that they have quit the party. According to Magyar Idők, the radical politicians leaving Jobbik will found a new party.

Magyar Idők’s Ferenc Kis thinks that the split in Jobbik is inevitable and unavoidable. The pro-government columnist lays the blame on former Jobbik leader Gábor Vona. Under Vona, Jobbik betrayed its original radical nationalist image as well as its base by embracing more centrist rhetoric, Kis suggests. Vona wanted to rebrand Jobbik as a catch-all centrist party that could govern the country, but instead he ruined Jobbik. The radical politicians who want to follow Jobbik’s original ideology will need to found a new party, Kis concludes.

In Magyar Hírlap, Dániel Kacsoh believes that both radicals and moderates are responsible for the plight of Jobbik. The pro-government commentator believes that Jobbik lost its credibility not only as a result of ideological controversy but also because of Gábor Vona’s willingness to cooperate with Lajos Simicska. As for the future of the party, Kacsoh wonders whether Jobbik will fall apart as a result of dissenters quitting and forming new radical parties.

Tags: Jobbik