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.