The Left’s chances in 2018

A left-wing columnist contends that the recent anti-government protests do not threaten Fidesz chances of winning next year’s Parliamentary election.

According to two opinion polls published last week, the sympathies of Hungarian voters have remained unchanged after the anti-government protests in April. One of the polls claimed that Fidesz had lost 3 per cent support in Budapest, but gained 3 per cent in the countryside.

Fidesz is still the largest minority, Miklós Hargitai writes in Népszava. The left-wing columnist points out that the majority of voters do not support the governing party, but the opposition is fragmented, and so are unlikely to threaten the victory of Fidesz in 2018. Hargitai suggests that the ideological basis of Fidesz is in ruins and anti-government discontent is growing. In the existing one-round election system, however, Fidesz can nonetheless secure victory as the largest minority. Thus the main question for opposition parties is whether they can pass the 5 per cent threshold to have a symbolic, critical voice in the next Parliament, Hargitai concludes.

On Wednesday, the Median pollster company also published its survey. In this poll, Fidesz’ popularity sank from 37 to 31 per cent in the total voting population since January.

Tags: Democratic Coalition, Fidesz, Left, MSZP, opposition