(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Hungary’s most notorious far-right party has gained momentum as a legislative ballot draws near, according to a poll by Szazadveg-Forsense. 17 per cent of decided voters would support the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) in the April election, up eight points since December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Hungary’s most notorious far-right party has gained momentum as a legislative ballot draws near, according to a poll by Szazadveg-Forsense. 17 per cent of decided voters would support the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) in the April election, up eight points since December.
The opposition Hungarian Citizens Party (Fidesz) remains the absolute frontrunner with 59 per cent, down five points. The governing Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) is now in third place with 16 per cent, followed by the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) and Politics Can Be Different (LMP), both with three per cent.
Hungarian voters renewed their National Assembly in April 2006. The MSZP and the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) won 210 of the legislative branch’s 386 seats, securing a full term for Socialist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. Fidesz, led by Viktor Orban, elected 164 lawmakers.
In June 2006, Gyurcsany introduced a fiscal "austerity package" of state subsidy reductions and tax increases, aimed at lowering the country’s fiscal deficit.
In September 2006, Gyurcsany was criticized after Hungary’s state radio aired portions of an audiotape—which had been recorded in May—in which he told members of the MSZP that his administration "lied throughout the past one and a half or two years" about the state of the country’s economy in order to win re-election. The prime minister’s words sparked a two-week riot that threatened to end his government.
In March 2008, Gyurcsany stepped down as prime minister, as he faced mounting criticism over his handling of the economy. The MSZP picked finance minister Gordon Bajnai to be the next head of government. In April, Bajnai and the cabinet survived a no-confidence motion in a 199-169 vote.
In June 2009, Fidesz won 14 of 22 seats in the election to the European Parliament. In December, the governing Socialists chose Attila Mesterhazy, a 35-year-old economist, to lead the party into the next election.
Jobbik is a nationalist party, self-described as "radically Christian." It won three seats in last year’s elections to the European Parliament.
On Apr. 1, Fidesz spokesman Peter Szijjarto said the party will not "not form a coalition in order to have two-thirds [majority] with anyone," adding, "We’ll have no cooperation with Jobbik because it is an extremist party, a party of violence, they are pretty dangerous to Hungary."
The next election in Hungary is scheduled for Apr. 11 and Apr. 25. The country’s electoral system calls for a first round, where a shortlist of all the candidates who receive more than 15 per cent of the vote is created. In the second round, the actual winner is chosen from these candidates. For the first round to be valid, more than 50 per cent of registered voters must take part. In the second round, the threshold is reduced to 25 per cent.
Polling Data
What party would you support in the next general election? (Decided Voters)
|
|
Mar. 2010
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Dec. 2009
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Nov. 2009
|
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Hungarian Citizens Party (Fidesz)
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59%
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64%
|
59%
|
|
Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik)
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17%
|
9%
|
12%
|
|
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)
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16%
|
17%
|
20%
|
|
Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF)
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3%
|
3%
|
3%
|
|
Politics Can Be Different (LMP)
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3%
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2%
|
3%
|
|
Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ)
|
–
|
–
|
1%
|
Source: Szazadveg-Forsense
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Hungarian adults, conducted from Mar. 16 to Mar. 22, 2010. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.
