Investigating the background of radical rightwing mobilization in Hungary with regional statistical methods

Abstract

Recent electoral trends illustrate the rise of radical rightwing support in Western Europe. In addition, part of the phenomenon is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the presidential campaign, and the result of the election in the United States. During the past several years, most of the radical rightwing parties have been able to expand both votes and parliamentary representation, thus threatening to render the formation of governments. In order to understand the significance of these developments, it is necessary to discuss the origins, background, and evolution of these parties. This study provides an overview of the regional features of voting behaviour in postsocialist Hungary and it attempts to show the processes that lead to voting for radical right parties. Different types of radical rightwing parties have appeared in postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe in several waves and with different intensities. In Hungary, the parliamentary elections held in 2010 resulted in a substantial rearrangement among the parliamentary parties. Leftliberal parties became significantly weaker, while the national radical party (Jobbik) got into the Hungarian National Assembly with a robust voters' support. The expansion of the radical right continued in 2014 when Jobbik won its second parliamentary term. The mainstream rightwing party Fidesz started to become more radical after the dangerous gain of Jobbik to stop them from further rising. The purpose of this Hungarian case study is to provide a picture about the performance of the radical rightwing parties and their main topics (minorities, immigration) to mobilise voters. It focuses on the impact of Roma minority spatial distribution on Jobbik's electoral results.