The vast majority, 83 percent, of respondents to a Mediana survey say next year’s parliamentary election in Hungary could face interference from foreign intelligence agencies.
The poll, published by the daily newspaper Nepszava, also indicates that 53 percent of respondents believe Russia might try to influence the upcoming elections, while 49 percent said it would be the European Union or the United States.
Another 25 percent fear Ukraine may try to manipulate the elections, reports Do Rzeczy.
The poll also showed that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the perception of Ukraine in Hungary has deteriorated significantly. “The Hungarian population now perceives the attacked Ukraine as a greater threat than Russia, although previously the situation was exactly the opposite,” Nepszava reported.
Parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary in April 2026. Fidesz has faced serious competition from the centrist TISZA party, led by Péter Magyar, a former aide to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Orbán, as in the previous campaign, argues that if his party wins, it will be a guarantee that Hungary will not be embroiled in the war that, in his opinion, Europe is currently heading towards.
A poll by the think tank 21 Research Center from early December showed that the Fidesz party has come closer to the TISZA party, which still enjoys the greatest support from voters according to most polls.
Among all voters, TISZA leads Fidesz by four percentage points, and among those who know how they will vote, the advantage is seven percentage points.
Compared to the October results, a swing back to the government has begun to occur, and the gap between the two main parties has narrowed from 10 percentage points. In the latest poll, TISZA’s lead over Fidesz had been cut to seven percentage points.
Besides the war, Fidesz is also pushing its pro-family and anti-immigration agenda, which it says Tisza will abolish in line with policies favored by Brussels.
The European Commission has long withheld EU funds owed to Hungary for what it claims are rule-of-law violations, as well as its refusal to accept migrant quotas, which has fed into the narrative calling for change among the Hungarian opposition.
