Hungary’s main opposition party, Tisza, has seen its lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s long-ruling Fidesz party narrow slightly, according to a new poll published on Wednesday, as the country enters the final month of campaigning ahead of the April 12 election.
This election presents the most significant challenge to Mr Orbán’s 16-year tenure, though the outcome remains highly uncertain amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war and mounting economic pressures. Many voters are reportedly still undecided.
The survey, conducted by 21 Research Centre (21 Kutatokozpont) between March 2 and 6, indicates Tisza now holds a 14-percentage-point advantage over Fidesz among decided voters. This marks a slight decrease from the 16-point lead recorded in the agency’s previous poll in January.
Centre-right Tisza, led by former government insider Peter Magyar, had the support of 53% of decided voters, unchanged from January, according to 21 Research Centre, while 39% backed Fidesz, up from 37% in the previous poll.
The poll, published by news site 24.hu, showed 38% support for Tisza among all voters, with Fidesz backed by 30%.
Based on the poll, Tisza could win 115 seats in Hungary’s 199-seat parliament, and Fidesz could expect 78 seats. The far-right Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) party would be the only other party crossing the 5% threshold to win seats.
Magyar has said his party would curb corruption, unlock billions of euros in frozen European Union funds to boost the economy, and firmly anchor Hungary in the EU and Nato.
Fidesz has pointed to other surveys that still show it on course to victory, though opponents – who criticise Orban for harming the rule of law and keeping warm ties with Russia – say these have mainly been conducted by institutes with financial or personal ties to the ruling party.
Mr Orbán ordered that a shipment of Ukrainian cash and gold seized last week by Hungarian authorities be held in custody for up to 60 days while his country’s tax authority investigates the case.
The gold and the money was being transported through Hungary by road when Hungary seized it last Thursday. Authorities said they suspected money laundering. The shipment included $40 million and 35 million euros in cash, as well as 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold — worth, based on the current exchange rates, about $82 million.
The seizure has outraged Ukrainian authorities who accused Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of acting illegally.