Patrick Cummins Tripodi
Staff Writer
Generally in the European Union we take democracy and the protection of human rights for granted. You may associate many things with Europe and the European Union but I doubt that its citizens seeking political asylum would be one of them.
Worryingly enough however, political asylum became a reality for Ákos Kertész earlier this month. The Jewish Hungarian writer felt that his life was in danger after being subjected to threats and what he labelled a politically orchestrated campaign against him following comments he made regarding Hungary’s troubled past. The alleged campaign (he was also attacked on the street) stems from a published letter in which he expressed his views on how Hungarians have never adequately dealt with their past, particularly the fact that many Hungarians enthusiastically collaborated with the Nazis. Although Kertész did make controversial remarks (by virtue of the fact that the Germans have dealt with and repented their Nazi past and the Hungarians have not, the latter are now the only ones to blame for the Holocaust) the fact that they ultimately led to his departure in search of asylum is a matter for concern. It is also not the first case of its kind as earlier this year a Romani activist similarly left for Canada in search of asylum.
This takes place against the backdrop of an increasingly undemocratic and intolerant Hungary. Viktor Orbán, whose rather conservative party Fidesz swept to power with an absolute majority in 2010, has enacted reforms that have worried not only many in Hungary but also many in the international community. These reforms include a rushed new constitution, the curtailment of the independence of the central bank, the forced retirement of a number of Supreme Court judges (seemingly political opponents) and a wide-ranging censorship law. The EU has threatened to begin legal action and to withhold much needed financial aid for Hungary in light of this autocratic turn by a party that holds strong Eurosceptic views. This has provoked an aggressive response from Orbán and his government at what it views as EU interference in Hungarian affairs. Fidesz’s current free reign originates from 2006 revelations about the Hungarian Socialist Party that led to its collapse in the 2010 elections. It is also a product of the financial crisis that has deeply affected Hungary.
Also particularly worrying is the increase in support for the xenophobic and far-right party Jobbik who have surged in polls of late and now hold 47 seats in a parliament of 386 (Fidesz hold 226 and the socialists 59). Its members have been accused of homophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-Romanyism and the party has now become the third largest in Hungary trailing only narrowly the discredited socialists.
This in turn comes amidst a general increase in support for far-right parties across Europe in the last few years. Although their influence varies from country to country, what unites these parties is an anti-globalisation, anti-immigration and Eurosceptic stance. Le Front National in France has hovered in the high teens in opinion polls for the upcoming presidential election while in Italy the anti-immigration and secessionist Lega Nord formed an important part of the coalition government under Silvio Berlusconi until Mario Monti’s technocratic government took over in late 2011. In Holland, Geert Wilders and his Party For Freedom have vowed to fight immigration and the Islamification of the Netherlands as part of the coalition government. In Britain the British National Party managed to gain significant media attention and 2 seats in the European parliament. Up north, the Sweden Democrats gained parliamentary seats for the first time in 2010 and in Finland the True Finns party won around 19% of the vote back in 2011. Cyprus has also been the focus of attention of late as a number of far right groups have sprung up and there have been a number of attacks against minorities and immigrants. There is also the Freedom Party in Austria, the Danish People’s Party in Denmark and the Swiss People’s Party in Switzerland and this list is not exhaustive. The Swiss People’s Party is currently the biggest party in Switzerland and controversially banned the construction of minarets in 2009. One of the party’s campaign posters showed a flock of white sheep kicking a black sheep off of a Swiss flag.
If history proves anything though, it is that with economic crises come increases in support for extremist parties. Let’s just hope that both go away soon.
