For a week now Hungary can boast its own orange republic. Or at least it does on the Internet site by this name set up by Jobbik to collect accounts by victims of "Fidesz's monopoly of power".

Upon our going to press the site was somewhat of a muddle, citing the complaint of a government official who lost his job, a Jobbik supporter who felt compelled to unsubscribe to the right-wing weekly Barikád (Barricade) out of fear, a student moaning about the high costs of starting school, and even a letter sent in by an employee telling on a "member of the ethnic minority". In the latter two cases the connection between the entries and "the orange steam roller" can only be guessed at.

The designers of the webpage might have realised that it is not the best weapon against the Fidesz government. As they say in their introduction, they do not take responsibility for the "content of the posts or for any possible errors".

Whose sail?

The above story highlights one of the main dilemmas faced by Jobbik: the contradictions of their relationship with Fidesz. For despite their ferocious remarks about dictatorship, the party's parliamentary faction has behaved as a loyal, if at times recalcitrant supporter of the government.

Since Parliament was formed Jobbik have voted to pass 36 out of 59 new laws and amendments, and abstained on four. Party members and supporters worry that they are running out of steam. It is therefore no coincidence that party president, Gábor Vona, tried to calm worried Jobbik in last week's issue of Barikád: "It was not orange sails that have been filled with a national wind, but what happened was that Fidesz's present enormous power has been channeled into our red-silver flags," he wrote. 

Jobbik's opinion-formers usually add to this that the governing party has been stealing their agenda. But in the end this is not a problem, goes the argument, since "the nation's interests" are above all else.

This rhetoric might evoke strange memories for veteran radicals: between 1998 and 2002 MIÉP soothed themselves in the same way - right up until the point where they no longer won any seats in parliament. For at the time most of them did not realise that if the party in power implements the ideas of a smaller party, the electorate will not think it is  worthwhile to cast their vote for a party that has no chance of being able to form a government.

A possible warning sign for Jobbik is that there have not been armies of disgruntled Fidesz voters gathering under the Árpád-striped flag since the election in spring. On the contrary, public opinion researchers found that support for the radical party has decreased. The organisations Századvég, Tárki and Nézőpont all found that support for Jobbik has dropped to 10-11 from its April high of nearly 17 percent. 

What will happen to the Hungarian Guard?

It is not only Jobbik's relationship with Fidesz that poses a dilemma, but so does the very future of the National Guard, these days referred to as a ‘Hungarian national' guard, since  Parliament has passed a law according to which wearing the uniform of the now dissolved social organisation would incur a fine of 150 thousand forints. When the law was passed, the MPs of the extreme right-wing faction stood with their hands on their heads in Parliament as an act of protest (opening picture), but this did not stop the majority government from passing it.

While in the past the ‘black army' was easily identifiable and their actions brought recognition for Jobbik that could be converted into votes, the situation has now changed. These days it is difficult to tell for example if a citizen walking along the street in camouflage trousers is part of the "backbone of the nation" or is just on his way to go fishing.

Moreover, the Guard has come in for criticism from unexpected quarters. MP Lajos Pősze told Magyar Nemzet that it is most unfortunate that Jobbik's name is frequently associated with the Guard or with György Budaházy. In his view the question must be raised whether there is a use for the Guard or they are only good for parading themselves.

Although Pősze later tried to defend himself by saying that his words had not been interpreted faithfully, he was nevertheless dismissed from his position as deputy faction leader. All this despite the fact that during the Antall government period - when he had been the head of the Sate Lottery Ltd. - he was one of the most important advisers to Gábor Vona, and in the negotiations preceding the formation of Parliament he was a member of the three-man Jobbik delegation.

This prompted us to ask one of the faction's other members, Szilvia Bertha for Pest County, if others in the parliamentary panel were also averse to Jobbik's most successful brand. "There is complete solidarity with the members of the Guard. Lajos Pősze is a ‘policy maker', who did not take part in the struggle of the early years, which might be the reason why he judged the situation differently. But it is not possible to go against the will of the parliamentary panel and the voters and remain unscathed," explains the politician, who believes that MPs should not file out from behind György Budaházy, who is accused of terrorism, murder and planning the planting of bombs, as "that would be a staged procedure". 

In her view neither news of Jobbik groups dissolving nor of members leaving the party are indications of in-fighting after getting into Parliament. "Now is the time to prove ourselves in national policy, since in the past we operated as a national movement. Many people cannot accept this change," says Bertha.

Circles of friends

Several local leaders of Jobbik, which used to appear united, have left it this summer and the Kecskemét core organization has been dissolved. There is nothing to worry about however, as similar things happen in other parties. What is more interesting, however, is that one of the Jobbik county presidents, Tibor Ambrus of Bács-Kiskun County, turned on the party's Budapest leadership with visceral anger, saying that "The leadership of Jobbik has been invaded by university students and bohemian princes, belonging to the same circle of friends, who then made their way into Parliament."

Attila Navratil struck the same chords when he not only tendered his resignation from his leading position in Jobbik's cabinet for national security but also left the party. Navratil, who came second in the Pásztó constituency in spring but did not get into Parliament, wrote that Jobbik's organisational autonomy had been replaced by the members of the faction striving to become integrated into the political elite.

Similarly to Pősze, Tamás Pachl, Jobbik's vice-president in Komárom-Esztergom County, also criticised the Guard. In his opinion street fighters and sensible politicians are struggling against each other in Jobbik, so he left the party too. According to the party's official communication, those who slam the door in Jobbik's face are all either people who did not do much work anyway, or those with hurt feelings since they were not given the positions they had wished for.

Is the perception of the guard not the same way among Jobbik's members then? We asked deputy faction leader Tamás Hegedűs to comment on Lajos Pősze's statement as well.

"The parliamentary panel has no license to make decisions in connection with the National Guard, as it is the party leadership that decides on matters concerning the relationship with the movement," says Hegedűs.

Hegedűs quickly clarified his reply, which could well be regarded as suspiciously "politically correct" by any of his fans, saying that he regarded the criminalisation of the Hungarian Guard as unjust, i.e. the law on public safety mentioning the members of the movement "in the same line as robbers and thieves". In answer to our question as to why a uniform is indispensable for flood protection work and cutting down ragweed he said that it was an expression of belonging to the same community.

According to Hegedűs, they accomplished good and professional work in Parliament and this was even recognised by other parties. At the same time, he conceded that those who are dissatisfied with the party do have a point. In the first period they almost "got bogged down in Parliament" and had no energy left over for field work. He says that there is concern in the party that the centre-right government is siphoning off their voters; however, he believes it will be possible to stem the flow of voters if Jobbik successfully explains the following: "Jobbik plays an important role in strengthening the national orientation of Fidesz - a party with a heterogeneous base - as an external challenger." To keep their voting base the faction will start working on themes to strengthen their image as a politically viable and autonomous party, but only after the local government elections. These themes include issues such as Hungary's state debt, critical feedback on EU membership and the necessity for a greater burden to be taken on by multinational companies.  

October 3 will be another test for Jobbik. Their main objective in the local government elections is to redress their failure in Budapest, since in the spring election the "new power" only came fourth in the capital and was even beaten by LMP.

The Hungarian Guard is a topical issue in Budapest too. Pál Losonczy, the party's Budapest campaign manager, told Heti Válasz that "The only question is how to go on, since the movement cannot be a subject of debate. It has to be recognized that the Guard is more at home in the countryside, and has less importance in Budapest". Thus, Jobbik are planning a special campaign in Budapest and will primarily target young people and "wavering Fidesz supporters". They will focus more on environmental protection issues, however, LMP will be a serious rival in this. Losonczy will regard it as a success if he can attract 15 percent of the votes, but the main aim is for Jobbik to become the second power in Budapest just as it is in the eastern half of the country.
      

Yes, yes and yes

The amendment of some acts related to sport, the National Land Fund, and simplified employment: these are three of the 36 laws that Jobbik have voted yes for since Fidesz's election victory.  

It is not simply the case that Jobbik only supports symbolic acts held dear by their voters - such as the act on dual citizenship, and the Trianon album; the parliamentary statistics suggest a broader strategy.

Among all the parliamentary parties the radical Jobbik proved to be the most sympathetic towards Fidesz's proposals. Since Parliament was formed they have pressed the "yes" button in the final vote for sixty percent of the 59 drafts submitted. They abstained in four cases and only voted no if they felt that the proposal restricted the party and its sphere of interest - for example the amendment on the uniform worn by the National Guard and in the case of changing the local government election system.

The party has justified its opposition to the rest of the proposals it voted no for as a demonstration to protect democracy and an objection to Fidesz having a supermajority.  Included among these was the amendment of the laws governing the election of constitutional court judges and the act on government officials. At the same time, Jobbik's politicians head the list of speakers: Tamás Gaudi-Nagy spoke the most (on 102 occasions for a total of nine hours), LMP's András Schiffer is in second place but is followed by the radicals again: Előd Novák spoke 58 times and János Volner 57 times.

One of Novák's parliamentary affairs indicates what kind of dilemma the radical party is struggling with in Parliament. During the negotiations on whether to suspend the right of immunity of Tamás Meggyes, the Fidesz mayor of Esztergom, Novák shouted "let him hang!" Although Novák later explained that he was referring to the suspension of the mandate he still had to apologise, whereas during the spring election campaign such expressions were an integral part of Jobbik's discourse.