A series of controversial recordings have been leaked by the pro-government media, putting more pressure on the biggest – yet still small – opposition party, Jobbik. Opposition MP Péter Jakab was recorded years ago saying that the majority of the Roma population doesn’t intend to work.
In a residential forum, Jakab said, “Now that it’s been 24 years since the regime change, I think we have to ask ourselves whether a significant portion of the Roma population wants to work or just wants to continue supporting their poor lifestyle by living off subsidies. Because, if someone chooses to defecate on the floor I would call that a poor lifestyle. So maybe this poor lifestyle is sustainable and good for them. It is, however, not good for me because I have to live in fear of getting infections.”
Jakab has also been charged with anti-Semitism by the pro-government media. In another video, broadcast by the same channel, at a 2010 campaign forum held in Miskolc, Jakab can be heard saying that “if a prisoner belongs to a certain chosen people, then he is entitled to a lunch menu from a luxury restaurant, as he needs kosher food and has the right to it.” The quote was probably in reference to famous Hungarian-Jewish businessman Péter Tasnádi, who was serving a sentence at the time.
In addition, at the same forum, he called the Budapest Gay Pride a “fag parade” and labeled homosexuals “aberrant.”
After Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s leaks, the pro-government media published yet another scandalous recording on Thursday.
According to Origo, Jakab said in 2010 that the Roma minority had been “blackmailing the majority of society with the magic word, ‘racism.'” He also said that while all the Romas in Lyukóvölgy (one of the poorest lands in Hungary) “have LCD televisions, hi-fi systems and money to spend in pubs, the kids still don’t go to school and the parents still don’t work.” He is also quoted as saying that “Romas don’t use their spare energy to work, so all that’s left for them to do is commit crimes and upset public order.”
Péter Jakab, elected deputy leader of Jobbik’s parliamentary group on Monday, has grown to be one of the loudest critics of the governing alliance. Last week, government-friendly Echo TV announced that it would not be inviting back the three participants of the “debate” show who constantly referred to Jakab as “Jákob” (Jacob), allegedly making fun of the politician’s Jewish roots.
featured image via MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák