BUDAPEST (Reuters) – An opposition party overtook Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party among decided voters in a poll on Wednesday for the first time since 2010, hours ahead of a key speech by the veteran nationalist, who has strong ties with Russia.
Orban will speak later on Wednesday on the anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet uprising which was brutally crushed by the Red Army. A top aide triggered outrage last month by suggesting that Hungary would have fared better by not resisting the 1956 Soviet invasion, in comments that were also critical of Ukraine’s efforts today to push back Russian forces.
Orban, a nationalist who shot to fame in 1989 by demanding the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary, said his aide’s “ambiguous” words had been an error, while the leader of Hungary’s opposition condemned them as “traitorous”.
Media-savvy political newcomer Peter Magyar, 43, a former government insider, has attracted big crowds to rallies of his new Tisza party in the past months at which he accused the government of corruption and running a propaganda machine.
The government denies the allegations but Magyar has tapped into voters’ frustrations with Orban, who has grappled with several challenges over the past months with the inflation-hit economy struggling.
The poll by 21 Research Center, a Budapest-based think tank, and published by local media Partizan, showed Tisza had 42% support among decided voters in a survey in the first half of October, with Fidesz behind at 40%. When looking at the entire population, Fidesz still leads with 29% support, with Tisza at 26% in the poll. Two other recent polls also showed Fidesz with a shrinking lead over Tisza.
The fresh poll came before a rally by Magyar’s Tisza party which is expected to start at 1500 CET in Budapest, following Orban’s speech.
Magyar swooped into Hungarian politics earlier this year, before the June European Parliament elections, promising to root out corruption.
His Tisza party has capitalised on widespread frustration among voters with the other opposition parties, who have failed to mount a serious challenge to Orban during his 14-year rule. The next national election is due in early 2026.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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