Hungarian Voters Reject Right Wing, Allaying Jewish Fears of Anti-semitism

Allaying the fears of the Hungarian Jewish community, the country’s extreme right-wing fared poorly in the first round of elections here this week.

According to preliminary tabulations of Sunday’s nationwide vote, the country’s Socialist Party made a strong comeback after four years of conservative rule under the Democratic Forum, a center-right coalition that came in second.

But Istvan Csurka, the leader of far-right elements in Parliament who has made anti-Semitic speeches in the past, was turned back, along with his followers in the Hungarian Justice Party, who received only 1.4 percent of the vote.

A total of at least 5 percent of the vote is needed to secure a seat in the Hungarian Parliament, whose final composition will be determined after a second round of voting on May 29.

The strong showing of the former Communists who make up the Socialist Party reflected voter discontent with the economic hardships the country has endured since the conservative Democratic Forum won a historic victory in 1990 that ended four decades of Communist rule.

Preliminary results of the voting indicated that the Socialists garnered some 30 percent of the vote Sunday, while the Democratic Forum received some 11 percent.

According to Peter Feldmayer, president of the Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Communities, the results proved that Hungarians rejected the anti-Semitism that marked some of the campaigning.

During the campaign, posters of the liberal Free Democratic Party were painted over with Jewish stars, and on some posters the word “Jew” had also been painted.

Some of the Liberal Party leaders are Jewish. The party came in second place with 19.7 percent after the first round.

Some observers say Sunday’s results show that the majority of Hungarians distanced themselves from old-fashioned nationalistic ideas.