A slap in the face for Hungarian democracy

The left-leaning daily Népszava comments on the surprising election result of Hungary's right-wing extremist Jobbik party, which won three seats in the European Parliament: "The dramatic advance of the radial Right must come as a hard blow for every democrat in Hungary. The just under 15 percent of the vote that Jobbik was able to win in the European elections [with a voter turnout of 36 percent] is an ill portent for all those who want a Hungary based on democracy and human rights. … Those committed to democracy need to urgently reflect on what has gone so terribly wrong in Hungary in the past few years. … Hungary has received a mighty slap in the face from hundreds of thousands of voters. We can only hope that this will shake those who see themselves as democrats into action. If not we face huge problems: rapidly spreading racism, self-administered justice and a trend towards a police state."

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