Opposition facing uphill battle on Hungary political scene, says analyst

Budapest, November 25 (MTI) – It is hard to find any issue in Hungarian political discourse which opposition parties could latch onto and use to their advantage, a political scientist said on Friday.

The ruling Fidesz party is still the force dictating the political agenda, and has even managed to “steal” the issue of national identity in relation to the migrant crisis from opposition Jobbik, Béla Galló told public news channel M1.

He added, however, that Jobbik was helped by the differences within Fidesz and by leading public communication on corruption.

A recent poll published by Median found little change in the popularity of Hungary’s major parties compared with the poll conducted in September. The poll had Fidesz at the top of the order with 36 percent in the total sample and with 53 percent among decided voters who have a clear party affiliation. Median also found that support for Jobbik has continued to decline.

Galló said Fidesz’s lead was “unquestionable”, which he attributed to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán having found “a feel for” a number of key issues concerning not just Hungary but also Europe and the rest of the world. He noted the migrant crisis as an example of such issues.

But Galló was less confident about the accuracy of Jobbik’s declining numbers. He said Jobbik was looking more and more like the leading opposition party, saying that its popularity greatly exceeded that of the leftist parties among young people.

Source: MTI