Hungary’s main opposition Fidesz and radical nationalist Jobbik have both improved their already strong positions since the European elections, a poll by Szonda Ipsos published in Thursday’s national daily Nepszabadsag showed.
Since the last poll in May, Fidesz gained 6 percentage points and Jobbik 5 points while the ruling Socialist party’s dismal showing has remained level.
Jobbik, which registered nearly 15 percent of the vote in the European parliamentary election, has improved its standing in national opinion polls too, currently capturing 7 percent, well over the 5 percent threshold for a parliamentary mandate.
But this result, says the pollster, should be treated with caution, as there appear to be a lot of overlaps and swinging between the Fidesz and Jobbik camps.
For example, 17 percent of Fidesz voters indicated that their second choice would be Jobbik while 40 percent of Jobbik supporters made Fidesz their alternative voting choice. This suggests that movement is one-sided: since the European elections, many Jobbik voters have returned to the Fidesz camp.
Fidesz now has a voter support base of 44 percent of the total population, the highest ever, the poll said. This compares to the Socialists’ 11 percent in May and 12 percent in June.
Fidesz’s support level in the European elections was 56.37 percent with a nation-wide turnout of 36.28 percent. The Socialists won 17.37 percent of the vote.
