A majority of Hungarians would like to see more than two parties after the next general election scheduled for 2010, according to a recent Publicus poll in Monday’s Nepszava daily.
Fifty-four percent of those polled believe that there should be more than two parties in Parliament while 34 percent would prefer to see only the two front-runners — the governing Socialists and the main opposition Fidesz — afloat after the elections.
Five parties occupy seats in Parliament. The latest opinion polls suggest however that none of the three smaller parties — the conservative Democratic Forum, the liberal Free Democrats, the Christian Democrats — would make it back to Parliament by winning at least 5 percent of votes cast on party lists.
Although a majority would like to see four or more parties in Parliament, saying “the more parties, the stronger democracy”, 44 percent of respondents believe a new party emerging on the scene would have no chance of success.
