Steven N.
Ferenc Varga is a very talented, pro-active, hard-working young man. ➡️ He has a degree in economics, and has led the Roma ethnic self-government in Szegvár since 2014.
-wrote Jobbik President Péter Jakab on social media as he introduced the party’s latest candidate. Jakab stated that the party wanted to run Varga as a candidate in the primary elections last fall, but the Roma politician declined the offer. Now, Jobbik is offering Varga a place on the joint party list of candidates being drawn up by the opposition coalition.
Feri! You have signed up for this job. It’s a tough task, and you didn’t ask for a seat for in Parliament for it. And that’s exactly why you deserve it.
-wrote the Jobbik chair.
In the televised debate for opposition candidates vying for the prime ministerial nomination on September 24 last year, Péter Márki-Zay asked the four other candidates to provide leading spots on the joint opposition list to members of the Roma community.
All of the other candidates pledged to do this except for Péter Jakab, who said he was not a fan of quotas. Jakab referred to this earlier comment in his Facebook post:
As I’ve said to you and to Péter Márki-Zay: I do not support quotas. Talent, however, I do. Regardless of origin.
Since the televised debate, Márki-Zay later won the opposition’s nomination for prime minister, and has repeatedly brought up what the other candidates pledged to do during the debate.
Jobbik’s announcement is the party’s response to him, and Márki-Zay himself acknowledged this in a comment he left on Jakab’s post, writing:
I pay respect to Jobbik’s decision, as I consider it extraordinarily important that Hungary’s gypsy population are given real representation in Parliament. Good luck, Ferenc!
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