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It might only be ten years old, but Jobbik (a.k.a., The Movement For a Better Hungary)—described by its opponents as fascist and neo-Nazi—is already the country’s third most popular party. At the end of last year, its minister of Foreign Affairs, Márton Gyöngyös, called for the country’s Jewish population to be cataloged and screened as potential security threats. A month later, 10,000 people took to the steps of parliament to protest the move and urge the government to condemn the man who proposed it.
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Taking a break from having to defend his country’s policies to the EU, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spent last Wednesday rubbing shoulders with Jeremy Clarkson and John Major at Margaret Thatcher's funeral. But he hasn't always been the kind of guy to schmooze with the right-wing glitterati. First emerging as some kind of minor resistance hero, Orbán was a founding member of Fidesz, an alliance of young democrats that resisted the communist regime. During his two terms in office, however, he has continued to push the party further and further to the right and centralized as much state control as possible.
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The most vivid display of the government’s crackdown on freedom of speech comes in the form of Klubradio, a radio station whose license renewal has been refused despite three court rulings in its favor. It’s believed the government is less than happy about the station’s policy of broadcasting comments from anonymous callers.Granted, there was one guy who proposed assassinating Pal Schmitt, the former president, but the presenter immediately accused him of being unreasonable and hung up. It’s the democratic voice that sparks fears among officials, and because they can’t be seen to overtly shut it down, commentators predict that the government will instead try to ruin the station financially.
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