Ukrainian president's popularity not the lowest in Hungary

Confidence in NATO is high, Russia is widely perceived as a threat, and defence and security are among the top priorities for Central European countries, according to a recent analysis by Globsec, a security policy research institute, which looks at perceptions of the European Union, NATO, the war in Ukraine and certain political leaders, among other issues.

Pozsony, 2023. május 31. Emmanuel Macron francia elnök (k, balról) felszólal a Globsec globális kül- és biztonságpolitikai fórumon Pozsonyban 2023. május 31-én. MTI/EPA/Martin Divisek Fotó: Martin Divisek

In the case of Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, the perception of the United States as a driver of Western support is also controversial: an absolute majority of respondents in these countries believe that the United States is dragging their countries into war, because it is profiting from it. In Hungary, some 33 per cent of the respondents agree with that statement.

As for NATO, the authors of the study measured significant support for the military defence organisation, concluding that there is a strong societal demand for the doctrine of collective defence in the region.

Zelensky's support on the decline

Globsec also looked at the support of political leaders in the region. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's popularity is far from unanimous, but besides Hungary, it is also high in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania, for example.

According to this section of the study, support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who enjoyed almost universal recognition at the start of the Ukraine war, has dropped by more than five percentage points in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia over the past year.

In the latter, less than a third of the population have a positive opinion of the Ukrainian president, even though Slovakia's leadership is one of the greatest proponents of supporting Ukraine.

Attila Demko, security policy expert  Head of the Centre for Geopolitics at Mathias Corvinus Collegium, told us that the reason for this is that the Western press has published articles portraying the Ukrainian president in a less favorable light, adding that this began to mold and shape public opinion in these countries.

Blowing up the Friendship oil pipeline would have affected Slovakia and the Czech Republic,

Attila Demko said, regarding Zelensky's leaked plans to blow up the pipeline, which was also on the agenda of Ukrainian decision making, and which clearly influenced the respondents' opinions.

The EU preaches water and drinks wine 

Examining public support from everyday citizens towards the European Union, the study finds that at least 70% of respondents in Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria feel that the bloc tells all member states what to do and that members have no real influence on the decisions. According to Mr Demko, this view may stem from the procedures against Hungary and Poland.

"It is clear that the European Commission is not negotiating fairly. The EU preaches water and drinks wine, when it comes to small countries," the expert said.

Make no mistake, this is not simply about Hungary or Poland. It is about whether a small country can trust the European Union in the long run,

he concluded.

Cover photo: French President Emmanuel Macron (standing, centre) speaks at the Globsec Global Foreign and Security Policy Forum in Bratislava, 31 May 2023 (Photo: MTI/EPA/Martin Divisek)