Popularity gap between leading Hungarian parties shrinks

The gap between the popularity of Fidesz and the Socialist Party shrank slightly in February, according to a survey by Szonda Ipsos. Support for Fidesz among decided party voters fell from 55% in January to 51% in February, while the Socialist approval rating rose from 33% to 34%.

The Free Democrats moved up from 4% to 5%, while the Democratic Forum's support grew from 5% to 7%, its highest standing in ten years. The far right Hungarian Justice and Life Party had 3%, the Christian Democrats zero and other parties 1% support.

Socialist supporters make up 21-22% of the population, or 1.7-1.8 million people. The Socialists are strongest in Budapest, and other large cities, and among the elderly.

Support for Fidesz varies from month to month by as much as 4-6% either way. The 600,000 Fidesz majority among decided party voters means that the party has a better standing among all social sections than the Socialists.

The poll was conducted February 16-23 on a survey of 1,500 adults. The margin of error is 2.5%.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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