Hungary's opposition keeps poll lead, backed by younger generation

Hungary's centre-right opposition Tisza party has kept its 10 percentage point opinion poll lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz in January, a fresh poll showed late on Monday.

Fidesz had stronger support only among voters older than 59 and living in villages and small towns, the poll found.

Nationalist Orban, in power since 2010, faces a strong challenge for the first time in 16 years in a parliamentary election due on April 12. Tisza is led by former government insider 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, which he denies.

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 voter group aged older than 59. Among those with only primary school education, Fidesz led 38% to 27% for Tisza.

Most polls show Fidesz trailing Tisza despite voter-pleasing measures after three years of economic stagnation in Hungary. Pro-government pollsters show a Fidesz lead.

Orban has framed 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.

-Krisztina Than/Reuters