BUDAPEST, Hungary, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A rising star of Hungary's conservative Jobbik Party, known for anti-Semitic comments, is coming to terms with the revelation that he is Jewish, officials said.
Since Csanad Szegedi's ancestry came to light months ago, he has been exiled from Jobbik and faces pressure to give up his seat in the European Parliament, The Independent reported.
Szegedi was notorious for accusing Jews of "buying up the country" and attacking the "Jewishness" of the political elite, however, after weeks of rumor and speculation, he admitted to being Jewish in June.
What spurred the rumor was a tape-recorded conversation dating from 2010 between Szegedi and convicted felon Zoltan Ambrus. Ambrus can be heard confronting Szegedi with the finding that his grandfather was a labor camp veteran and his mother was an Auschwitz survivor. After saying he had the documents to prove it, Szegedi offered Ambrus money to keep quiet.
Jobbik president Gabor Vona said it is not Szegedi's heritage, but the bribery itself that should forfeit Szegedi's Parliament seat.
"We have no alternative but to ask him to return his EU mandate," Vona said. "Jobbik does not investigate the heritage of its members or leadership, but instead takes into consideration what they have done for the nation."
