Fidesz keeps strong lead – latest poll

A left-wing commentator is disheartened by the passive reaction of the population to what he sees as worsening conditions throughout the country. He blames the opposition for failing to provide an attractive alternative to the government.

The pro-government Nézőpont institute reports that Fidesz has lost seven percentage points since April but would still easily win an election. It is still supported by 47% of the electorate, while opposition parties are losing ground with three of the six members of the former opposition alliance barely measurable in the polls. 17% of the electorate, who regard themselves as both politically active and critical of the government, find no opposition parties that would satisfy them.

In a bitter Népszava column, Miklós Hargitai accuses the bulk of the population of cowardice in the face of what he describes as a critical state of affairs throughout Hungarian society. ‘Had society some backbone’, he writes, ‘we would be in for a long, hot autumn’. He describes the government as totally paralysed facing multiple emergencies in education, healthcare, and over utility tariffs, and believes that such a situation should normally produce an outbreak of widespread protest. The reason why no such thing is happening, he thinks, lies in the lack of an opposition that would propose a way out of the crisis without an economic catastrophe. Hargitai therefore predicts ‘a cool, calm, almost catatonic autumn’, unless the young generation, ‘who still haven’t lost all hope’ decide to revolt.

Tags: crisis, opposition, polls