Occupying the throne (for a few minutes)

As previously reported, Péter Jakab, caucus leader of the far-right Jobbik party, sat in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s seat in parliament on Wednesday to protest a motion by the ruling conservative Fidesz to radically increase fines for unruly MPs.

Now, the blogger nicknamed Aristo (a reference to Greek philosopher Aristotle), looks at the symbolic meaning of his action, writing the following:

Péter Jakab, often called the “father of the nation” by news sources (what has our nation become to have fathers like him?) sat in the prime minister’s seat for a short time in a surprising turn of events. Fortunately, the prime minister himself wasn’t there at the time.

Jakab explained his actions by saying that he wanted to find out what fine he would receive for his gesture.

Not satisfied with the superficial facts, I always try to look for the deeper meaning hidden within.

The news of Jakab’s stunt has been accompanied by a picture showing the MP sitting in Orbán’s seat and looking rather stupid. His behavior is, for the most part, something that falls within the purview of psychological science, but just maybe, like in the case of Hamlet, there is a method to his madness.

The first and most obvious explanation is that he realized this is the only way he will ever be able to occupy that particular seat. His party,  whose popularity never amounted to much, is unlikely to ever stand a chance of winning real power in elections. On top of that fact, Jakab is not the sharpest knife in the box, which is evidenced by his inability to even become president of his party, which is known for its small pool of low-quality candidates.

The shining beacon of liberalism, the so-called news portal Index, quoted Jakab as saying that “with his action, he wanted to demonstrate that there is no law that could prevent them from speaking the truth.”

Truth is a funny thing, because, apparently, this is one politician who is only able to speak the truth by using his behind.