Hungarian Opposition May Struggle to Unify Voters, Poll Shows

Hungarian Opposition May Struggle to Unify Voters, Poll Shows

(Bloomberg) -- The majority of Hungarian opposition voters wouldn’t vote outside their own political camp, even if that was needed to defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party in the April 8 election, a survey by the Index news website and polling company Zavecz Research showed Tuesday.

Forces opposing Orban’s poll-leading Fidesz party, galvanized by a municipal by-election victory last month, need to overcome divisions within their ranks to oust the premier. They include Jobbik, a radical nationalist group that’s been moving toward the political center and a collection of leftist, liberal and green parties that have a history of bickering among themselves and have traditionally avoided alliances with Jobbik.

Among Jobbik voters, fewer than 20 percent would vote for a "left-wing" candidate. Conversely, about a quarter of other opposition voters would be willing to vote for a Jobbik nominee as a way of uniting the anti-Fidesz vote, the poll showed.

On a nationwide level, Fidesz has led all opinion polls, with Jobbik second. The Index-Zavecz survey, which didn’t provide figures on party popularity, was carried out on a "national representative sample" in February, before the Fidesz by-election defeat in Hodmezovasarhely. No margin of error was given.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.

Get live Stock market updates, Business news, Today’s latest news, Trending stories, and Videos on NDTV Profit.
GET REGULAR UPDATES