Hungary voters back EU membership but question Ukraine aid
As Hungary's April 12 general election nears, opinion polls continue to point to a slight lead for Peter Magyar, the challenger to longstanding incumbent Viktor Orban, albeit with many voters still undecided and results varying by polling institute.
With Hungary's April 12 general election days away, polls show a tight race between challenger Péter Magyar and long-serving prime minister Viktor Orbán, though a sizable share of voters remain undecided. An IDEA survey put support at 39% for Magyar’s Tisza alliance, 30% for Orbán’s Fidesz and 21% undecided. A separate ECFR representative poll of 1,001 people (March 26–April 1) portrays a complex picture on Europe and Ukraine: many Hungarians want a different relationship with the EU yet remain cautious about backing Kyiv.
Views on EU relations
- In the ECFR poll, 43% said they want a “very different” approach to relations with the EU, 25% favored minor adjustments and 19% wanted to keep the current course.
- Attitudes vary sharply by party: 91% of Tisza supporters want to realign ties with Brussels, while Fidesz voters are split — 44% prefer the present approach and roughly 45% want some change.
- Despite criticism of the bloc from Orbán, 77% of respondents support Hungary’s EU membership and 66% backed joining the eurozone. Overall distrust of the EU was relatively low (15%), though distrust is higher among both Orbán and Magyar backers.
ECFR polling lead Paweł Żerka noted that about two-thirds of Hungarians trust the EU and overwhelmingly favor remaining in the union, even as domestic leaders attack Brussels.
Attitudes toward Russia and Ukraine
- Foreign-policy rhetoric has featured prominently in the campaign: Orbán has criticized EU policy toward Kyiv and recently blocked approval of a major EU loan for Ukraine. The ECFR findings show broad public caution about deeper engagement with Ukraine.
- Among Fidesz supporters, 77% want to keep Hungary’s current approach to Ukraine; just 11% of Tisza supporters feel the same.
- Only 26% of all respondents endorsed financial support for Ukraine, compared with 47% of Tisza backers.
- A majority (56%) oppose Ukrainian accession to the EU; Tisza supporters are divided (about half in favor), while 77% of Fidesz supporters strongly oppose membership.
- Support for allowing military aid transit through Hungary was limited (36% overall); 77% of Fidesz supporters opposed transit, and 30% of Tisza supporters opposed it.
- On energy, 66% of Tisza supporters would stop buying Russian oil (Hungary remains exempt from EU oil sanctions), whereas 77% of Fidesz voters oppose halting Russian oil purchases.
- Perceptions of the conflict differ sharply: 62% of Fidesz supporters view Ukraine as “an adversary”; 19% of Fidesz supporters call Russia an ally and 57% describe Russia as a “necessary partner.”
ECFR analyst Piotr Buras warned that even if Magyar wins, a wholesale reversal of Hungary’s foreign policy is not guaranteed given deep divisions and widespread skepticism about aid to Kyiv and its EU ambitions.
Other political splits and voter priorities
- Views of U.S. politics split along party lines: about three in four Fidesz supporters view Donald Trump positively, while roughly four in five Tisza supporters view him negatively.
- The ECFR poll suggests foreign policy is not the top priority for most voters: only 6% named relations with the EU as the single most important issue (10% of Tisza supporters, 2% of Fidesz supporters).
- Tisza voters prioritized corruption and governance (31%), public services (18%) and cost of living/inflation (17%). Fidesz backers placed energy security (22%) and cost of living/inflation (20%) highest.
- Both the ECFR and IDEA surveys found roughly one in five voters undecided; about 60% of those undecided said they would definitely turn out to vote on election day.