Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party’s leader strengthens power

FILE - In this April 6, 2014 file picture Chairman of the radical nationalist Jobbik party Gabor Vona, center, delivers his speech after the parliamentary elections in the Budapest Congress Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Experts say the leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik party is trying to strengthen his power by forcing a key party member to resign from parliament. Elod Novak says he is giving up his seat at the request of party president Gabor Vona but wants to remain in Jobbik. (AP Photo/MTI, Janos Marjai,file ) FILE - In this April 6, 2014 file picture Chairman of the radical nationalist Jobbik party Gabor Vona, center, delivers his speech after the parliamentary elections in the Budapest Congress Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Experts say the leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik party is trying to strengthen his power by forcing a key party member to resign from parliament. Elod Novak says he is giving up his seat at the request of party president Gabor Vona but wants to remain in Jobbik. (AP Photo/MTI, Janos Marjai,file )

By Associated Press June 6, 2016 2 min read

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – The leader of Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party is trying to strengthen his power by forcing a key party member to resign from parliament, experts said Monday.

Lawmaker Elod Novak said he was giving up his seat at the request of party president Gabor Vona but wanted to remain in Jobbik, the second-largest opposition group in parliament.

In a post on Facebook, Novak called his resignation “the most painful decision” in his life, describing his ouster as “incorrect and unethical.”

Vona was recently re-elected party president with 80 percent support, but blocked Novak and others from running for leadership positions.

Political Capital Institute analyst Attila Juhasz said Vona was resorting to the method also used by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who emphasized personal loyalty and consolidated his leadership by sidelining potential rivals.