Steven N.Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Márton Gyöngyösi was elected president of the Jobbik Movement for Hungary at a party congress held in Budapest on Saturday.
The party announced at a press conference after the election that the new president had received 68% of the vote, while his rival, István Földi, only managed to win 29%. Márton Gyöngyösi confirmed an MTI report that a third presidential candidate, Balázs Ander, withdrew his candidacy in his favor before the election.
The election was necessitated by former party head Péter Jakab, who abruptly resigned his post last month, despite being overwhelmingly re-elected as president the month before.
In an apparent nod to Jakab’s departure as well as that former Jobbik MP János Stummer, Márton Gyöngyösi said that the opposition party’s rank and file wanted Jobbik to rebuild after the period of upheaval.
Since “there is no real national, and real conservative party on the political spectrum in Hungary” today, Gyöngyösi wants to build and lead one, he said. He promised a pro-European, value-oriented, self-identifiable Jobbik with its own principles, emphasizing that they want to offer a way out of the current-day problems by responding to the problems of the Hungarian people and questions of national destiny.
Responding to a question, the new president of Jobbik said he would retain his mandate in the European Parliament, as his team will design a work schedule for him that will allow him to strengthen his party while also working in Brussels. [HVG]
