Jobbik elects new leader

One left-wing and one pro-government columnist ponder the implications of the election of Tamás Sneider, a former skinhead leader who now represents Jobbik ‘moderates’ as the new President of Jobbik.

Népszava’s Gábor Czene thinks that Jobbik remains a divided party after the election of the new President. The left-wing columnist recalls that it was predicted that Tamás Sneider would win by a large margin. The close result (Tamás Sneider received 54 per cent of the votes, while the more radical László Torockai was supported by 46 per cent of Jobbik delegates) suggests that half of Jobbik’s members would prefer more radical politics, Czene writes. He concludes by suggesting that the intra-party battle will limit Jobbik’s chances of increasing their popularity.

In Magyar Hírlap, Károly Bán contends that Jobbik will continue to strengthen its centrist image and distance itself from its earlier radical ideology, despite the fact that the more moderate image has failed to increase Jobbik support. The pro-government commentator suspects that the centrist Jobbik leadership has suppressed more radical voices in the party.  He predicts that Jobbik will soon cooperate with the left-wing opposition even more closely.

Tags: Jobbik