Hungarian langos vendors, Andrea Jasz and Attila Marton have been baking langos, Hungary's favourite snack, since before Viktor Orban became Prime Minister the first time (1998). 

They have served the defty bread snacks throughout Orban's entire tenure, but life in the sleepy town of Szentendre just outside Budapest is changing, and like the langos, new tastes are also seeping into the political landscape in the town - much as they might not want it to change.

"We don't really bring politics into here," Marton said while mixing dough for langos, saying politics and splitting opinions was bad for business.

Szentendre, long a Fidesz stronghold in Hungary's traditionally conservative region, has seen political tides shift. 

In the 2022 parliamentary elections, the ruling Fidesz party secured 52.39% of the vote in the town. However, by the 2024 European Union elections, the newcomer, a centre-right opposition Tisza party, overtook Fidesz, gathering 38.4% versus Fidesz's 32.1%.

Like many Hungarians, Jasz and Marton prefer not to discuss their political preferences. 

The opposition, Tisza seems to be increasingly  meeting people's taste however. A recent poll by the news site hvg.hu, showed Tisza party gaining ground while Fidesz's support was stagnating despite numerous voter-pleasing measures announced by the government after three years of economic stagnation.

Despite facing the EU's worst inflation following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Jasz and Marton have refrained from raising the prices of their popular langos, saying they try to balance quality with affordability. 

"I spend much time searching around for the best prices so that we do not have to raise the prices here," Jasz explained.

While Orban has framed the upcoming elections as a choice between "war or peace", accusing Tisza of wanting to involve Hungary in the war in Ukraine, a claim Tisza denies, opinion polls suggest Hungarian voters are more concerned with domestic issues such as healthcare and the economy.

"I cannot predict the outcome of the election. I really hope that the peace here will continue to remain," Marton said, reflecting the cautious perspective of many small business owners.

-Kriszta Fenyo, Malgorzata Wojtunik/Reuters