Steven N.
With just a little over a month before Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 3, a new Republikon Institute poll shows that the competition between the two main political contenders is still very tight.
Among the all voters, support for ruling Fidesz-KDNP and the opposition alliance in February both fell by 1 percentage point since the previous month, with the former now at 40% and the latter gaining 39% support.
The Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP) also dropped a point to 2% among all voters, with the Our Homeland Movement going up a point, from 2% to 3%. The proportion of undecided voters also increased, and now stands at 16%.
When undecided voters are excluded, the poll shows Fidesz with 48% support and the United for Hungary opposition coalition at 46%. In this group, MKKP and Our Homeland each get 3% support:
Fidesz-KDNP – United for Hungary – Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party – Our Homeland
Republikon summarized its findings by noting that there had been little change in the balance of power between the two main political forces. If there is no major change in developments in the next month, then Hungary’s parliamentary elections will likely be decided at the last minute, the think tank argues.
Will There Be a Prime Ministerial Debate?
The Republikon Institute also examined how important voters think a debate would be between Viktor Orbán and Péter Márki-Zay, the two main candidates for prime minister from the ruling party and leading opposition coalition, respectively.
Nearly two-thirds of all voters responded that it was important to have such a debate, the poll revealed. One-third of Fidesz voters held this position, while 92% of United for Hungary supporters agreed as well.
Among undecided voters, 66% were in favor of a prime ministerial debate, with 19% believing it wasn’t necessary.
Very important – Somewhat important – Somewhat not important – Not at all important – No answer
Republikon’s poll was taken between February 18-24, with 1,000 respondents interviewed by telephone, and results balanced by age, gender, location, and educational attainment. Their margin of error is +/- 3.2%.
A little over a week ago, Publicus published a poll showing United for Hungary with a slight lead over the governing Fidesz-KDNP parties.
[Index][Images: republikon.hu]
