High stakes at Tapolca
April 7th, 2015A week before the Tapolca by-election, a conservative analyst admits that the stakes are indeed high for Fidesz, but criticises Cabinet Minister János Lázár for warning local voters of the possible negative consequences of choosing opposition parties.
On Válasz (Heti Válasz’s website), István Dévényi interprets János Lázár’s comments on next Sunday’s by-election as a threat to the local community if a majority opts for an opposition candidate. Mr Lázár said the government did “not plan to work together either with Arrow Cross people (Hungarian Nazis) or with Communists, and that is something everybody should ponder in the given constituency”.
This was the first time a leading government politician had used the word “Arrow Cross” to describe the far right Jobbik party. This is being interpreted in the press as the start of a new campaign against Jobbik’, after Gabor Vona’s movement began to achieve scores in opinion polls which approach those of Fidesz. (See BudaPost, April 2) Jobbik is considered to be the favourite in a close race, leading the polls in Tapolca, while the remaining two districts of the constituency are strongholds of the other two main parties – with Fidesz ahead in and around Sümeg and MSZP traditionally strongest in Ajka. The Minister also announced that PM Orbán will be on the spot for the last stage of the campaign. The Tapolca constituency was easily won a mere 11 months ago by Fidesz. The by-election was caused by the death of the incumbent MP.
Dévényi admits that the stakes are high for Fidesz, especially after losing the recent by-elections in the nearby city of Veszprém, where the Left scored a resounding victory (see BudaPost, February 25). Another defeat might be the start of a dangerous slide, he suggests, while a victory might reassure uneasy Fidesz voters nationwide. He would never personally encourage anyone to vote for either Jobbik or the Socialists, he hastens to add. Nevertheless, Mr Lázár should not have implicitly threatened the local population with negative consequences from the government, if they choose to elect an opponent, he argues.