Is there a lesson in this for America? Hungarian voters endorse extremists after decades of dissatisfaction with two established parties

It seemed until now that in Hungary just like in the United States, Germany and England, there would be a big two-party system, but lately another third party has risen to influence politics in Hungary, and maybe there are some lessons for American people in this.

On Sunday, April 12,  when Hillary Clinton announced that she would run for president, there was also a local election in a small district in western Hungary. On the same day, 15,000 people in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, were protesting against anti-semitism and remembering for the Holocaust. Colleen Bell, the new U.S. ambassador to Hungary, was in the event. She is a film producer who became the ambassador because she raised a lot of money in the Obama campaign.

In the local election, the Jobbik party won. This party  is a  radical, nationalist, extremely right-leaning party. This party is known for its EU-scepticism and opposition to NATO and the United States of America. Some of its leaders are openly against Jews and gypsies.

After the elections, the head of the party said: “We are not Nazis, and we respect all the ethnicities.”

There are three more years until the next election, and with this victory, the Jobbik party has a chance to win the elections. They are the only party that is growing, and it is really popular among the youth, and they got a lot of supporters from the two ex-governor parties.

Hungary from 1948 until 1989 was a communist country led by the Soviet Union, and since ’89, the fall of communism led to mainly two party-ruled Hungarian politics: the socialist party (Left) and Fidesz (Right), who have been governing with Prime Minister Viktor Orban since 2010.

In the United States, the two big parties exist, and it seems they will prevail under the influence of the Clinton and the Bush family, but in Hungary, people are so disappointed that not much has changed since the 26 years after democracy started with multiple party system, and they are not wealthier and the political elite is corrupt despite the fact that we are part of the EU and NATO.

As poverty rises, the extremists rise too.

But until we live in a country which is called democratic, we can not blame it on anyone except ourselves. Democracy is what the majority of the population wants, but if they are leaning intolerant after the recent elections, then they will have to face the consequences.