Survey: PM Orbán’s party losing support – UPDATED
The Hungarian prime minister and his Fidesz party won the fourth consecutive supermajority in 2022 in the general elections. However, it seems the popular support towards the governing alliance is withering away as a consequence of the worsening economic crisis.
As we wrote HERE, PM Viktor Orbán plans to remain in power for much longer than he said back in 2018. However, the support behind him is dwindling. He acknowledged that in a keynote speech in Kötcse. Orbán explained that the reason behind his fading popularity is the weakening Hungarian economy since, as he put it, people got used to constant growth.
The Republikon Insitute found that Fidesz’s popularity contracted in the last few months. In August, 42% of the party voters would choose Orbán’s governing party, which is a minus 6% drop. Concerning the population, that rate is minus 4% and 30%. The second biggest political community behind Fidesz’s is the undecided voters with 28%, 24.hu wrote.
The biggest opposition party is Ferenc Gyurcsány’s DK (17 and 12%). Momentum Movement, Mi Hazánk and the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party, Hungary’s mock party, would be present in the parliament, provided the elections were this Sunday. However, LMP, Jobbik, Párbeszéd and the Socialists would lose their parliament seats.
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Nézőpont: Orbán enjoying commanding lead
Ruling Fidesz holds a “commanding” lead over the other parties ahead of the start of the autumn session of parliament, according to a fresh poll released by the Nézőpont Institute on Tuesday. Fidesz’s voters, however, are less committed to the party, Nézőpont told MTI. If elections were held this Sunday, Fidesz would be likely to receive 51 percent of the vote, but around 10 percent of its voters, or 5 percent of the electorate, are not certain that they would choose the ruling party.
Nézőpont pointed out, however, that the “partial uncertainty” among Fidesz voters did not mean that they intended to vote for another party. It also noted that Fidesz still polls over 40 percentage points higher than the strongest opposition party, the Democratic Coalition (DK), which has a backing of 10 percent. The ruling party’s numbers are also close to double the combined support held by the opposition parties that contested the 2022 election together, it added.
Radical party Mi Hazánk is supported by 9 percent of the electorate, while Momentum would receive 8 percent of the vote, as would the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party. The party of former Jobbik leader Péter Jakab would get 3 percent, and Péter Márki-Zay’s Everyone’s Hungary People’s Party would receive 2 percent of the vote. The Socialist Party and green LMP would also get 2 percent each. Nézőpont’s phone poll was carried out between September 4 and 6 with a sample of 1,000 adults.
Fidesz party MEPs to back EU defence facility
The MEPs of ruling Fidesz are backing the European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act (EDIRPA), because “strengthening the European defence industry is in our fundamental interest”, the group said in a statement on Monday. The statement published on Monday, after an EP discussion on the report on setting up the facility, said: “The new facility is key to strengthening European defence industry and capacity, weakened by failed leftist-liberal policies, and so our group supports the initiative.”
Group leader Kinga Gál said the Ukrainian war made us realise that strengthening European defence industry and infrastructure was long overdue. It is in Europe’s fundamental interest, she believes. “The European Union can only face escalating security challenges with globally competitive defence and military capabilities,” Gál asserted. The facility will offer an opportunity to improve responsiveness and production capacities through the cooperation of member states, she explained. “All that is key to sustained peace and long-term stability.”
MEP Andras Gyurk said the new facility could create value added when the European defence industry was “brought back on its feet”. “The war in a neighbouring country has shown the strategic failure of the leftist-liberal defence policy aimed at dismantling the defence industry. To ensure the security of EU citizens, the most critical deficiencies of the defence industry should be addressed at lightning speed. That warrants the cooperation of European countries as well as strong national defence industry programmes, and the facility can contribute to that. Besides, the new act may help defence investments in Central Europe and in Hungary,” he said. The EP is scheduled to vote on the report on setting up the EDIRPA on Tuesday.