According to a political analyst at PC Hungary, anti-Jewish conspiracy theories are the most likely to trigger acts of violence. A subsequent survey, to be published in the near future, shows anti-Roma sentiments and racial prejudice present among 60% of Hungarian voters, regardless of political preference.

According to the analysis published on Political Capital’s blog, research focused on typical responses to the following six statements:

Jews want to rule the world
Jews are aiming for expanding their influence in world economics
Jews often meet behind closed doors to discuss questions of importance to them
Jews often operate in secret and in the background
Jews would like to get decisive positions in international financial institutions
Jews want to achieve their common goals through secret pacts

Respondents rated the statements from one to five, with five meaning they completely identified with the statement, 3 neutrality and 1 complete dismissal.

According to chief analyst Péter Krekó, PC Hungary’s research focused on elements of “conspiratorial anti-Semitism”, meaning the identification with complex anti-Jewish conspiracy theories among politically active citizens (as opposed to emotionally motivated Jew hatred).

According to the findings, 29% of all respondents agreed with the statements, 15% strongly. The rate of identification was significantly higher among Jobbik respondents, with 46% believing in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and only 31% dismissing them.

According to PC Hungary, the results of the poll explain why Jobbik’s leadership practices “double speech” in its communication on the question of anti-Semitism. An earlier research focusing on emotional reactions showed that 75% of Jobbik supporters found Jews “unsympathetic”. Even though only 7% of Jobbik sympathizers indicated strong opposition towards the statements, PC Hungary notes “there is a significant segment of Jobbik voters who are not anti-Semitic”.

Citing a series of statements by Jobbik politicians on Jews and anti-Semitism, the analysis argues that in order to hold on to its base, the radical right-wing party needs to maintain its anti-Semitic rhetoric while “softening” its image as a strongly anti-Jewish political organization.

In addition to explaining how Jobbik’s strategy is linked to political ideas accepted by its supporters, the research offers important data on just how widespread the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are in the politically active Hungarian population: 31% of left opposition supporters as well as 30% of Fidesz supporters accept the statements about Jewish conspiracy as true.

PC Hungary senior analyst Attila Juhász told the Budapest Beacon that the survey was similar to one used by Warsaw University. The Warsaw study of political psychology concluded conspiracy theories are most likely to trigger restrictive legislation and social exclusion. Those responding positively to theories of Jewish conspiracy were more likely to support the restriction of land ownership for Jews and various other forms of discrimination than their counterparts who harbored emotional resentment of Jews. Juhász adds that the proportion of “conspiratorial anti-Semites” in Hungarian society is significantly lower than emotive anti-Semites, suggesting that the majority of Hungarian voters would not support any anti-Jewish legislation, and there is a low likelihood of verbal abuses giving way to violence in the long run.

Juhász says that in Poland, Hungary or Bulgaria anti-Jewish feelings are embedded within a cultural and historical environment in which a crisis discourse always includes anti-Semitic elements. On the other hand, Jews are rarely identified as targets of far-right mass-violence. By contrast, in France or Belgium rising levels of Islamic fundamentalism have resulted in more and more criminal offenses against Jews and sometimes even murders.

According to a PC senior analyst, Hungary’s radical right-wing Jobbik tries to connect anti-Jewish and anti-Roma feelings as part of a unified far-rightist worldview. According to preliminary figures, 60% of Hungarian voters responded positively to the idea that there are far more violent criminals within the Roma community than elsewhere, and a similar number accepted the term “gipsy crime” as accurately portraying the real situation. The findings showed no significant difference on anti-Roma prejudice based on party affiliation, meaning there was almost the same proportion of left-wing and liberal opposition voters accepting the existence of “gipsy-crime” as there was on the right.

The PC senior analyst concludes that Jobbik is softening its racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric on a national level so as to solidify and expand its moderate base with a view to creating a party capable of taking up administrational duties after 2018. Yet violent racist agitation and anti-Semitism remain important instruments of the party on a regional level. Juhász expects that Jobbik will show more of its radical face in the lead-up to municipal elections scheduled for October.

Source: The Budapest Beacon

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