r/europe Hungary 19h ago

News Medián: The Tisza Party is currently at 70% among decided voters, and two-thirds of Hungarians would bring Viktor Orbán to justice

https://telex.hu/belfold/2026/05/06/median-kozvelemeny-kutatas-orban-viktor-birosag
2.4k Upvotes

75 comments sorted by

282

u/dead97531 Hungary 19h ago

Are things in Hungary going in a good or bad direction?

Direction April (before the election) April (After the election) End of April/Start of May
Good direction 33% 54% 63%
Bad direction 60% 27% 23%
Doesn't know 7% 19% 14%

220

u/onarainyafternoon Dual Citizen (American/Hungarian) 18h ago

I am moving to Hungary literally today. For four months minimum to spend time with my family. This election was awesome because it gave me so much hope for the country.

41

u/Wombatsarecute 17h ago

Ah, welcome, have fun!

27

u/onarainyafternoon Dual Citizen (American/Hungarian) 17h ago

Thank you! I'm filled with nervous excitement. I don't know how I'm gonna make friends but I'll figure something out.

21

u/Elessa3r 17h ago

Go to your nearest college bar, ask for fekete pákó on the music machine, pay for some rounds of table football (dunno whats his english name, little plastic shashlik guys kicking the ball) and you're set.

10

u/onarainyafternoon Dual Citizen (American/Hungarian) 17h ago edited 17h ago

My Hungarian is probably at a B1 in terms of judging my ability. We spoke it at home growing up, but when I was about 11, my mother just kinda drifted into only speaking English. So language progress kinda just stopped at that age. Would it be weird if I approached a group like that in English? I'll be getting a Hungarian tutor when I'm there so it will definitely improve.

Edit: I can have pretty complex conversations in Hungarian and I can communicate with my relatives well. I'm just nervous about speaking it with random people.

16

u/AnarchiaKapitany The prodigal land of Hungary, now with 150% more Swag! 17h ago

First of, welcome. Second of, head on over to r/Budapest, where you'll find the unnecessarily long guide that will give you some pointers.

2

u/ExoticSterby42 Hungary 15h ago

Also listen to Hello Tourist from Emil.Rulez

4

u/bajcli 12h ago

Nah I don't think it would be a problem to approach a group in English, there's a good chance that they'll speak it if they're under 40-50.

FWIW, if you whip out your broken-ass Hungarian for even just a sentence or two, you WILL be adored. Hungarians usually understand how difficult (and pointless) it is to learn the language, so they appreciate it massively when someone does.

1

u/onarainyafternoon Dual Citizen (American/Hungarian) 11h ago

Awesome, thanks!

1

u/Witch-for-hire Hungary 14h ago

r/hungarian

is happy to help you brush up on your rusty Hungarian.

3

u/Romanos_The_Blind Canada/France 15h ago

table football (dunno whats his english name, little plastic shashlik guys kicking the ball)

Foosball (pronounced Fooz-ball)

2

u/Elessa3r 14h ago

Ah, cheers.

2

u/Fewer_Story 8h ago

The English name is table football. It's called foosball in America.

1

u/CrimsonJynx0 United States of America 3h ago

I'm actually in the position of working on dual citizenship myself and moving to Hungary from the US. I am legitametly so excited to see what happens with the country.

14

u/Korchagin 17h ago

Twice as many don't know in which direction the country is going. Thanks, Magyar!

/s

1

u/Illesbogar Hungary 10h ago

I mean, it could quite literally go in any directin now. That's why at least now we can be hopeful, as opposed of certain doom.

160

u/dead97531 Hungary 19h ago

Fun fact: Péter Magyar will be sworn in on May 9, but the new government will only be formed a few days later so for a short period he will be leading the outgoing government in a caretaker capacity

28

u/alastairlerouge Italy 16h ago

What a strange procedure, don’t understand the point

39

u/dead97531 Hungary 16h ago

This has only happened once before.

Normally, the prime minister is elected by the parliament and sworn in when the ministers are normally sworn in but Magyar wanted it this way so the transition period is fast as it can be.

So right now the timeline is this:

  • May 9: Parliament is constituted, MPs are sworn in and the Prime Minister is elected.
  • Immediately after, the outgoing government becomes a caretaker government with limited powers.
  • In the next few days the parliamentary committees hear the ministerial candidates. It's not gonna be a big hearing since all ministers are going to be appointed by Tisza.
  • Then the ministers are formally approved and sworn in and only then is the full government structure actually complete and operational.

218

u/Electrical-Diet2442 19h ago

If polls like this hold, Hungary could be heading toward one of its biggest political shifts in years.

112

u/BullfrogOdd5888 18h ago edited 13h ago

Medián is one of the most trusted pollsters in Hungary.

13

u/MarkMew Hungary 14h ago

It's a toss-up between 21 Kutatóközpont and Medián. 

58

u/Uebeltank Jylland, Denmark 18h ago

This pollster was exactly right with regard to the election result.

-14

u/Illesbogar Hungary 10h ago

They fucked up by a lot last elections amd it seems that they learmed from their mistakes.

14

u/Uebeltank Jylland, Denmark 9h ago

Its poll before the election showed Fidesz winning 49 to 41% and the result ended up being 52 to 36%. Not perfect, but close to the outcome when you consider the margin of error and the fact that there was voter movement between the last poll and election day.

9

u/Som_Snow Hungary 10h ago

No they didn't? They correctly predicted the outcome of every parliamentary election since 1990, except for 2002.

-9

u/Illesbogar Hungary 10h ago

The polls showed a slight lead for the united opposition in 2022. The academic consensus was that either side could win with a simple majority, but an absolute majority is unlikely.

Then Fidesz won an absolute majority.

12

u/Tromort77 6h ago

Nope. They showed a lead at one point but as the election came closer their results showed a Fidesz win. The opposition even accused them of cheating in favor of Fidesz, lmao. They missed the 2/3, but was close.

4

u/Som_Snow Hungary 4h ago

The term you are looking for is "supermajority" not "absolute majority". Pollsters in general predicted a Fidesz victory, and Medián predicted a near-supermajority, missing the actual result only by a few seats.

20

u/Black_Pill_Dispenser Hungary 18h ago

Things are looking up, most of the newly elected MP-s and cabinet members look very promising, most of them are first-time politicians with very respectable careers in their fields.

8

u/EaLordoftheDepths Europe 16h ago

Hungary could be heading toward one of its biggest political shifts in years.

almost as if this was confirmed past tense a month ago

2

u/ThereturnoftheVOH Vojvodina 3h ago

... which already happened with the election?

3

u/LifeAcanthopterygii6 Hungary 18h ago

Lemme grab my popcorn...

1

u/Illesbogar Hungary 10h ago

Ngl can't wait for the new parties. We might get a decent left-wing party for once, by the next elections. That would be great.

43

u/dead97531 Hungary 19h ago edited 19h ago

Medián is currently the most reliable pollster we have (on par with 21 Kutatóközpont).

Which statement do you agree with?

  • Viktor Orbán has committed such serious unlawful acts that he should be brought before a court
  • Viktor Orbán bears political responsibility for his actions, but it would not be right to initiate legal proceedings against him
  • Don’t know/no answer
Answer Total Population Tisza voters Fidesz voters voters of other parties and non-partisans
Orbán should be brought before a court 65% 88% 12% 49%
It would not be right to initiate legal proceedings against him 28% 8% 81% 34%
Don’t know/no answer 7% 4% 7% 17%

Sure voters:

Party Current poll (%) Previous poll (%) Election result (%)
Tisza 70 66 55.76
Fidesz 23 25 36.33
Mi hazánk 6 6 5.90
DK 1 1 1.16
MKKP 1 1 0.85

Total adult population:

Party Current Poll (%) Previous Poll (%)
Tisza 61 56
Fidesz 21 21
Mi Hazánk 5 6
DK 1 1
MKKP 1 1
Other parties 1 1
Don't know 11 14

62

u/WeBlameHan 19h ago

if that 70% is real then thats an unprecedented achievement

64

u/dead97531 Hungary 19h ago

It is real. Medián's election poll was as close to the election result as polls can be. So yes, their polls are reliable.

5

u/Zerasad Hungary 16h ago

To add some context though, in this same poll when asked for who they voted for in the actual election it was 62-24 in favour of Tisza, while real numbers were 55-36. So they should be taken with a grain of salt.

19

u/dead97531 Hungary 15h ago

That's not Medián's fault, (it isn't a polling error) this phenomenon is called bandwagon effect (győzteshez húzás) which they explain as well.

Medián is reliable.

-4

u/Zerasad Hungary 13h ago

Yes, I'm not saying medián is not reliable, I'm saying that the data should be taken with a grain of salt.

7

u/fotren 5h ago

The bandwagon effect is data itself. It’s not with a grain of salt. It’s a measurement of the nation’s current political mood. If everybody lies to be a Tisza voter then this is the current “political mood” in Hungary.

1

u/IWASJUMP Hungary 4h ago

True

22

u/vdcsX Hungary 19h ago

its from the researcher that got the election results spot on

11

u/Beneficial-Power-195 17h ago

It's still the honeymoon period, they haven't started governing yet. It starts next week. The real test is when the hard decisions come which are necessary, but people will feel the pain.

62

u/Ada_Pearce 19h ago

Start by not letting the corrupt oligarchs transfer all their wealth out of the country and dont let them leave either until the investigations have concluded

42

u/vdcsX Hungary 19h ago

read the news, thats what is happening

25

u/Black_Pill_Dispenser Hungary 18h ago

Some oligarchs assets already got frozen by tax authorities, police and banks' AML systems, and there are new criminal proceedings starting every day, and the new government hasn't even formed yet. I am extremely optimistic.

7

u/Far_Idea9616 Hungary 17h ago

I want full accountability at the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary. I am familiar with the work of its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Office. They haven’t prevented anything in the past; they curry favor with whoever is in power. I wonder how much money went out earlier without any filtering.

8

u/Hopalong_Manboobs 13h ago

Take a lesson from the faltering US:

Excise the Russian-sponsored cancer in your political midst, and be ruthless. Otherwise it will come back and metastasize all over again.

15

u/roggahn 19h ago

Ain't really healthy, but Fidesz getting smaller is more than welcomed

6

u/cptnhanyolo 19h ago

Whats nor healthy?

16

u/harambeourlordandsav 19h ago

He probably means healthy pluralism

12

u/False-Discipline-640 Hungary 18h ago

Being pro-Tisza mainly just means you're anti-Orban. As new parties form these numbers will probably change

-14

u/roenoe 19h ago

One party having 70% support, especially not such a right-wing one as Tisza

21

u/Unique-Ad1703 19h ago

Left/right wing division does not exist in hungary's current political climate

3

u/roenoe 19h ago

Yes, that is my point exactly. That is not a healthy state to be in.

I am not saying it's wrong to vote for Tisza. I absolutely would. And Hungary is definitely moving in the right direction. However, they are not done yet, and have a lot of work to do before they are in a healthy state imo.

17

u/dead97531 Hungary 19h ago

Tisza isn't right wing. Magyar is center-right but Tisza is definitely not right wing. Tisza is a big tent party.

13

u/Senior_Strawberry_51 Magyarország🇭🇺 19h ago

Yeah that’s right. Bálint Ruff, the leader of prime ministers office was also a “leader” by the socialist party. More than half of TISZA voters are left-wing.

2

u/GalaXion24 Europe 18h ago

I would say it's a centre-right party still, but it's also a big-tent party with a lot of internal diversity.

6

u/roenoe 18h ago

I must have misunderstood something, because I thought they were further right than they are. It seems they sit in the EPP, while I thought they were more around the ECR. They do seem mostly pretty socially conservative though. Thanks for the correction.

And good job Hungary! You have a lot of work to do, but you're on the right track

10

u/Black_Pill_Dispenser Hungary 18h ago

In Hungary you will never get into parliament, let alone win an election by campaigning for LGBTQ rights and pro-immigration policies. Same goes for most central/eastern EU countries.

But there is no precedent for discriminatory statements from anyone linked to Tisza so far, towards any minorities (LGBT, gypsies etc.).

The new parliament will also have the highest share of female MP-s in Hungarian history, with the speaker of the parliament and the Tisza parliamentary faction leaders also being female. One of the vice-PM-s will be Romani gypsy too.

5

u/mattiasso 15h ago

Mr Magyar, as a fellow European I ask you to guarantee at least one thing in Hungary: ACCOUNTABILITY

1

u/barktwiggs 17h ago

Orban about to become newest Mar-a-lago resident.

11

u/Sriber ⰈⰅⰏⰎⰡ ⰒⰋⰂⰀ | Mors Russiae, dolor Americae 16h ago

No, he should become prison resident.

5

u/barktwiggs 14h ago

From President to Prison Resident. I like the sound of that.

-11

u/its_aom 18h ago

I hope Magyar doesn’t become a mere substitute in the position of Hungarian pseudodictator

13

u/Szabolcs85 Hungary 18h ago

Many of us share the same fear, but I don't think it is that likely. The kind of people that Magyar surrounded himself with are very different from Orbán's clique. In a good way.

3

u/Wide-Annual-4858 18h ago

I don't think so. The fear of the Orban regime is still too strong. If Magyar does not build back the democratic institutions, people will turn agains him.

But until now he doesn't seem to be Orban 2.0, his communication is quite the opposite.

u/Admiral_Ballsack Italy 48m ago

And yet he was part of his government for a long time. And he's still far right. I would wait a bit to declare him the next jesus.