April 22nd, 2011

Fidesz seen brushing off drop in polls

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Members of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democratic alliance are not panicky about the drop in support reflected in recent polls and politicians told Friday’s daily Nepszabadsag that the trend is likely to reverse once the effects of economic reforms are felt.

Recent polls showed that over the past year, the ruling parties lost some 600,000 supporters.

Peter Harrach, group leader of the Christian Democrats, told the paper that support has remained above expectation, considering that in the year since the elections, “some large systems have been changed.” He admitted, however, that some of the support for the ruling parties was probably lost as a result of the introduction of the 16 percent flat rate tax which left low-wage earners with less cash.

Fidesz politicians told the paper that delays in setting up a National Debt Management Fund and attacks against the media law and the new constitution have likely played a role in the drop in popularity. Yet, once the position of the budget is stabilised and economic growth starts, the popularity of the governing parties will climb.

Despite the loss in support for the governing parties, the popularity of the opposition has not increased. This shows that currently there is no alternative for the ruling Fidesz-Christian alliance, the paper said.

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3 Comments

  1. Viking says:
    April 22, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Recent polls showed that over the past year, the ruling parties lost some 600,000 supporters
    —
    “Only 26% of the eligible voters in Hungary would vote for the governing Fidesz party if elections were held this Sunday, according to the latest poll by Szonda Ipsos. The Socialist Party’s (MSZP) popularity is enough for no more than 12% of the votes, it said on Wednesday. While the voter base for Fidesz eroded further (from a peak of 42% in May 2010), there is no change from last month in the support for far-right Jobbik (8%), but the green LMP party has become a tad more popular (4% vs. 3%). About half of the respondents keep their distance from politics, the April survey showed. Szonda Ipsos said only every third eligible voter has a firm party preference, which is the consequence of the high degree of uncertainties and passivity.
    22% of the respondents said they would not turn up at the voting booths this Sunday, while last month only 18% of them were of this view. And 26% of them still do not know or would not say which party they would support”
    -
    http://cib.hu/retail_banking/current/economic_news/index?id=P22106
    -
    The interesting part will be one year later when the new budget has melted in, especially if there will be any credible opposition or the voters will still just be disappointed and confused

  2. jobbo says:
    April 24, 2011 at 5:28 am

    just watch those undecideds go to jobbik as the country continues to die

  3. Viking says:
    April 24, 2011 at 11:01 am

    just watch those undecideds go to jobbik as the country continues to die
    jobbo at April 24, 2011 5:28 AM
    —
    If there will be no centrist opposition to Our Dear Leader’s populism, that is a big risk
    The centrist opposition must most likely come from inside the current Fidesz, but so far no real tendencies and probably not for another 12-18 months