In a bizarre and largely inexplicable PR move, Péter Jakab, leader of the far-right Jobbik party, offered Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a small sack of potatoes in parliament on Monday during a regular Q&A session, daily Magyar Nemzet reports.
Jakab, whose candidate supported by seven opposition parties recently lost a by-election in the northeastern Borsod county, accused Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party of bribing and blackmailing constituents to vote for their candidate, asking, “What does a victory bought with fear and poverty taste like?”
At the end of his allotted five-minute time, Jakab held up a small sack of potatoes, presumably meant to symbolize a bribe, saying he is returning it to the sender.
He then left his bench, attempting to hand over the sack to Orbán, sitting in his usual front-row seat. Fidesz MPs also stood up and blocked Jakab from approaching Orbán. The incident can be seen at the five-minute mark in the video below.
Jakab was the only MP at the session not wearing a face mask. He offered no evidence for his claims of bribery.
In his reply, Orbán ironically said he was glad to finally see Jakab in parliament, adding that Jobbik is incapable of two things: winning and losing.
In a subsequent reply to another question pertaining to corruption, Orbán said Jobbik was the country’s most corrupt party.
“One cannot buy influence in Hungary, anyone who attempted to do so ended up within [the ranks of] Jobbik. Thus, has Jobbik become Hungary’s most corrupt party,” Orbán said.
Title image: Leader of far-right opposition party Jobbik attempts to hand a sack of potatoes to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Parliament on October 19, 2020. (source: Zoltán Fischer/Prime Minister’s Office)
