He said Hungarians were demanding greater freedom, justice and financial security and urged that politicians should be held accountable.

Vona pledged that if Jobbik were to come to power, “politics will not be a synonym for mafia, but will be about public service.”

The party leader said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should not be the one to decide what issues can be put to a referendum, who can be president or if Hungary “should build more hospitals or stadiums”.

Vona also spoke to the couple of hundred people in attendance about a European civil initiative his party had launched with the aim of establishing a European wage union.

The initiative calls for cementing the principle of “equal pay for equal work” in the EU’s founding documents, he noted. He said his party was not asking for “alms” but rather a level playing field and that Hungarian businesses could be made competitive through a new EU cohesion policy.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Kovács Tamás