Hungary’s center-right opposition Tisza party has a 10 percentage point poll lead over nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz in January, two and a half months before elections, according to the latest poll.
Fidesz had stronger support only among voters older than 59 and living in villages and small towns, the poll released Monday evening found.
Populist Orban who has been in office since 2010, faces a strong challenge for the first time since he came to power in a parliamentary election on April 12. Tisza is led by former government ally Peter Magyar.
The vote is set to have major implications for Europe and its far-right political forces. Orban, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has frequently clashed with the EU over the steady erosion of democratic values in Hungary and military aid for Ukraine.
The new poll, conducted between January 19-24 by Zavecz Research and published on news website Telex, showed that among decided voters Tisza had 49% support, up from 47% in November, while Fidesz polled 39% up from 38% in November. The far-right Mi Hazank (Our Homeland) party was backed by 5% of decided voters.
According to the survey, Tisza had overwhelming support with 41% versus 22% for Fidesz among voters younger than 39, but Fidesz led 38% to 35% in the over 59s. Among those with only primary school education, Fidesz led 38% to 27% for Tisza.
Orban calls the 2026 election as a choice between war and peace, portraying Ukraine as undeserving of support and his government as the only safe choice.
Tisza, which swept into politics in 2024, has said it would curb corruption, unlock billions of euros of frozen European Union funds to boost the economy and firmly anchor Hungary in the EU.
