Jobbik vows to turn Hungary into “food industry powerhouse”

If elected into government in 2018, Jobbik will turn Hungary into a “food industry powerhouse”, the opposition party’s leader Gábor Vona said in Marcali, in south-west Hungary, on Friday.

Due to its natural endowments and the knowledge and diligence of its citizens, Hungary has a great potential for reaching this goal, Vona told a press conference he gave in the company of Olympic champion water polo player Ádám Steinmetz, Jobbik’s local candidate for next year’s general elections.

The food industry, a strategic sector in Hungary, would deserve a special focus from the government, including efforts to create jobs and maximise revenues, he said.

Steinmetz warned of taking the EU farming subsidies for granted, because “there is no way of knowing how it will go after 2020”. The Fidesz government’s “Let’s stop Brussels!” billboard campaign earlier this year may have adverse effects by prompting the EU to withdraw support from Hungarian agriculture, he said.