As a rising star in Hungary’s far-right Jobbik Party, Csanad Szegedi was notorious for his incendiary comments on Jews: He accused them of “buying up” the country, railed about the “Jewishness” of the political elite and claimed Jews were desecrating national symbols.
Then came a revelation that knocked him off his perch as ultra-nationalist standard-bearer: Mr. Szegedi himself is a Jew.
Following weeks of Internet rumours, Mr. Szegedi acknowledged in June that his grandparents on his mother’s side were Jews – making him one too under Jewish law, even though he doesn’t practise the faith. His grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor and his grandfather a veteran of forced labour camps.
Since then, the 30-year-old has become a pariah in Jobbik and his political career is on the brink of collapse. He declined to be interviewed for this story.
At the root of the drama is an audio tape of a 2010 meeting between Mr. Szegedi and a convicted felon. Mr. Szegedi acknowledges that the meeting took place, but contends the tape was altered in unspecified ways; Jobbik considers it real.
In the recording, the felon is heard confronting Mr. Szegedi with evidence of his Jewish roots. Mr. Szegedi sounds surprised, then offers money and favours in exchange for keeping quiet.
Under pressure, Mr. Szegedi resigned last month from all party positions and gave up his Jobbik membership. That wasn’t good enough for the party: Last week it asked him to give up his seat in the European Parliament as well. Jobbik says its issue is the suspected bribery, not his Jewish roots.
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