The energy crisis caused by extreme heat and drought has prompted a substantial proportion of Hungarians to change their daily habits: cutting electricity and water consumption now affects a majority of the adult population. Yet the political fault lines are more apparent than anywhere else when it comes to managing the crisis, while attitudes towards recovery reveal a more generational divide, according to new research by Europion. There is, however, one thing on which Hungarians are broadly united.
Most Hungarians understand that the situation is serious
The survey asked respondents who completed the questionnaire via an app who or what was responsible for the current situation, and how it should be tackled. One unequivocally positive finding was that 85 per cent of Hungarians aged 16 and over had reduced their electricity use to some degree, while 78 per cent had also cut back on water consumption.
For almost one in eight people, however, saving electricity had not involved any change at all: 12 per cent said they had done nothing to reduce their energy use. In the past, certain Fidesz-linked websites and influencers eagerly urged people to run their air conditioning at full blast all day and fill their swimming pools in order to worsen the difficulties faced by the Tisza government. The survey did not examine whether there was any connection between the two.
The most common change was using household appliances less frequently, cited by half of respondents. Many were also saving water when irrigating their gardens, washing their cars and using air conditioning. These measures were mentioned by 46 per cent, 45 per cent and 40 per cent of respondents respectively.
Political camps emerge everywhere
At first sight, public opinion of the government’s handling of the crisis appears more favourable: half of respondents gave it a good or excellent rating, while 26 per cent rated its performance a fail or a bare pass. Political allegiance, however, had a remarkably strong influence on people’s views.
Some 81 per cent of Tisza voters rated the government’s performance positively, compared with just 13 per cent of Fidesz supporters. Critical voices were also in the majority among Mi Hazánk voters, while those who did not vote in April’s election and supporters of other parties tended to take a more favourable view of the government’s measures.
Similar divisions emerged over who should be blamed for the situation. The largest group, 40 per cent, pointed to the failings of the previous government; 34 per cent blamed extreme weather and climate change, while 18 per cent cited the current government’s lack of preparedness.
Political affiliation once again distorted these figures sharply. Some 68 per cent of Tisza voters blamed the Orbán governments, which had been in power for 16 years. Among Fidesz supporters, by contrast, 45 per cent highlighted the unpreparedness of the current cabinet, which had been in office for barely three months.
Hungarians favour voluntary restrictions
There is considerably more agreement over whether compulsory restrictions are necessary. Some 51 per cent of respondents said measures based on voluntary reductions in consumption would be sufficient, while only 27 per cent would support tougher rules or sanctions.
Political camps were also closer together on this issue. Support for stricter measures ranged from 23 to 30 per cent across the various groups, while backing for voluntary solutions stood at between 42 and 59 per cent.
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When it comes to the country’s future energy mix, the balance tilts towards renewables. Just 9 per cent would rely primarily on nuclear power, while 42 per cent would favour renewables and a further 42 per cent would use the two energy sources in equal measure.
Support for renewables was stronger among younger people, while nuclear power attracted a larger share of Fidesz voters and older respondents.
Europion questioned 1,600 people through its panel of mobile and web applications on August 4. The researchers adjusted the data using the MRP method to account for sampling distortions; the maximum margin of error for the estimates was 2.5 percentage points.
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