A new poll by the Nézőpont Intézet has returned the unsurprising results that of those willing to state their belief that a political party is corrupt, the Socialists came in first with 23%, with the Free Democrats coming in second at 7% (the best result they’ve achieved in a poll in nearly four years). Main opposition party Fidesz came in third at 6%. The remaining political parties (Jobbik, Christian Democrats and Democratic Forum) did not receive even 1%. One of the most interesting parts of this study, however, was that most of those expressing a negative opinion about the Free Democrats came from Budapest, which historically is where they’ve derived the overwhelming majority of their support. This goes a long way toward explaining why their voter base has disappeared.
Of those polled who are Fidesz voters, nearly 50% said all parties are corrupt, while 38% of Socialist voters said the same. Among Jobbik supporters 41% think the Socialist Party is corrupt, with 43% responding that all parties are. This result suggests that of the parties expected to win parliamentary mandates in the spring elections, Fidesz supporters are the most cynical.
A plurality of voters (34%) either did not respond or said they did not know which party was the most corrupt. But before Fidesz or the smaller parties start celebrating that the population at large felt the government parties were the most corrupt, 30% of those polled replied that they considered all of the parties equally corrupt. Ouch.
