Majority in Budapest supporting Mayor Tarlós – Survey

Fully 57 percent of respondents in a Századvég survey said they had a positive view of Budapest Mayor István Tarlós, while 41 percent said they preferred Gergely Karácsony, the opposition’s candidate in the upcoming municipal election.

In its report, released on Tuesday, the pollster said that supporters of Tarlós, the candidate of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance, consider the incumbent mayor as an “integrative politician” who is preferred not only be right-wingers.

Karácsony, on the other hand, is seen by his opponents as an “unsuccessful (district) mayor”, who has been “the central character” in the opposition’s pre-selection rounds “burdened with internal fighting”.

Concerning other candidates, the survey found that independent Róbert Puzsér was not popular on either side, with 73 percent of respondents rejecting his candidacy. The report added that Krisztián Berki, another independent, was even less popular, with only 3 percent of all respondents supporting him.

Three quarters of respondents said they did not expect an opposition win in the election, 71 percent voicing the opinion that Tarlós would be re-elected for the next five-year municipal cycle.

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