Hungarians willing to defend their country – poll
June 3rd, 2022According to a recent survey, half the Hungarian adult population would take up arms to defend their country in case of an attack from abroad.
Mandiner’s Mátyás Kohán comments on a survey by the Závecz pollster company on regional attitudes vis a vis the Ukraine war, and the willingness to take up arms in case of attack. The conservative pundit finds it reassuring that the majority of Hungarians agree with the government and do not want to get involved in the Ukraine war. According to the survey, 85 per cent of respondents (54 per cent of pro-government voters and 95 per cent of supporters of the opposition) see the war as a Russian aggression. The desire to be ‘left alone in our freedom’ and stay out of the wars of others does not imply that Hungarians are too cowardly to defend their own country, Kohán adds. In the survey 50 per cent of respondents said that they would be willing to take up arms in case of foreign aggression, which, according to other surveys, is higher than the ratio of Slovaks, Romanians and Czechs. Kohán notes that although opposition voters are more likely to flee their country (24 per cent as opposed to 6 per cent of Fidesz sympathizers) if war broke out, 49 of per cent of them would stay and take up arms (the ratio of Fidesz voters claiming they would stands at 57 per cent). Kohán also mentions that 40 per cent of Hungarians would reintroduce conscription (for both men and women). He believes that the overall numbers show not only that Hungary is a patriotic nation but also that there would be room to give even more opportunities to young Hungarians to actively contribute to and bolster Hungary’s defence capability.
Tags: military, nationalism, Ukraine