Survey: Positive attitudes to Western Europe decline among Hungarians, rise for CEE countries

Hungarians have a dimmer view of western Europe than five years ago, a survey shows. Correspondingly, their attitude to eastern European countries brightened between 2013 and 2018, market research firm Psyma Hungary said on Wednesday.

Psyma gauged how sympathetic Hungarians are to various European countries at the end of 2013 and 2018, with a representative sample of 1,000 people.

While positive attitudes to western European countries declined significantly — with nearly all western European countries losing popularity between the two surveys — they still score highly, with Switzerland, Austria, the UK and Spain ranking the highest.

The eastern European country that ranks highest on the list is Croatia, which shares fifth place with Sweden.

Of eastern European countries, support has grown for Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Psyma said. “The waning appeal of western European countries is connected with their handling of the migration crisis,” Psyma said. “Support for Germany has plummeted, and France also ranks much lower than in 2013.”

Asked about their approach to the United States and Russia, Hungarians are still markedly pro-American, Psyma said.

Source: MTI