Viktor Orban's Lead Continues to Grow, Peter Magyar Clearly Falling Behind

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s advantage over Peter Magyar in the race for prime minister has increased, the latest survey by Nezopont Institute found. The poll shows Klara Dobrev of the Democratic Coalition at the end of the list.

Peter Magyar, leader of Tisza Party

Only one third of Hungarians (32 percent) would entrust their country to Peter Magyar, the president of the Tisza Party, while nearly half (47 percent) would not replace the current prime minister. This comes from the newest Nezopont Institute survey, conducted before the October 23 commemorative events and again in late November during Tisza’s candidate selection process. The research sought to determine whom Hungarians consider the most suitable person to serve as Hungary’s prime minister.

Already in October, the incumbent prime minister held a clear lead in the prime-ministerial race.

At that time, 45 percent of respondents in a sample representing the entire Hungarian adult population considered him the most suitable for the role, while 34 percent chose Peter Magyar. An additional three percent named Klara Dobrev of the Democratic Coalition, five percent named Laszlo Toroczkai of Our Homeland Movement, and 13 percent chose no one.

The new Nezopont findings indicate that 

Viktor Orban’s lead grew further by the end of November.

Viktor Orban's visit to the United States, welfare-related measures, and active media presence may have contributed to the fact that nearly every second Hungarian (47 percent) now considers him the most suitable prime minister. By contrast,

less than one third of Hungarians (32 percent) view Peter Magyar as the most suitable.

The data reflect the opinions of the entire adult population. The public opinion survey was conducted by interviewing 1,000 people. Question asked: In your opinion, who is the most suitable person to serve as Hungary’s prime minister?

In other words, the prime minister’s suitability rating increased by two percentage points, while that of his main challenger decreased by two.

Peter Magyar’s politics, based exclusively on hostility toward Viktor Orban, clearly do not strengthen public perceptions of his ability to govern.

By November, Klara Dobrev’s figure rose by one percentage point to four percent, though she cannot have prime-ministerial ambitions. Laszlo Toroczkai’s five-percent rating, on the other hand, remained unchanged from October to November.

The survey also found that

five percentage points more people in the general population consider Viktor Orban the most suitable prime minister than the proportion of Fidesz sympathizers (42 percent), 

while Peter Magyar is considered suitable by one percentage point fewer people than the share of Tisza sympathizers (33 percent).