Magyar’s Tisza party won a landslide majority in elections last month, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power. The new prime minister will be sworn in on Saturday.
According to a poll published on Thursday, 77 percent of Tisza voters support a more ambitious climate policy, while 71 percent want the new government to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people, writes The Guardian.
During Orbán’s rule, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community have been significantly restricted.
The survey was conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and analyst Pawel Zerka said he was surprised by the result.
“There is a very clear mandate for the new government to take a more progressive stance. But the question is whether Magyar will listen to his voters or the electorate as a whole, which is much more divided,” said Zerka.
Péter Magyar is a former member of Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz party and has largely avoided clear positions on progressive social issues during the campaign.
According to the Guardian, the reason is partly that about 80 percent of the Hungarian media is controlled by people close to Fidesz.
Despite the victory, the new government has not yet clearly explained what concrete moves it plans on the climate and LGBTQ+ rights, even though the campaign lasted more than two years, and a 240-page election program was published.
The survey also shows that Hungarians want changes, but not a complete geopolitical turn.
About 79 percent of respondents expect an improvement in relations with the European Union, and 73 percent believe that Hungary will regain access to frozen European funds.
On the other hand, citizens are much more cautious about Ukraine and relations with Russia.
Although 64 percent of respondents expect better relations with Kyiv, only 24 percent support financial aid to Ukraine, and only 12 percent military aid.
More than half of the respondents, 52 percent of them, oppose the cessation of Russian energy imports.
“Magyar’s convincing victory was a vote for internal change, not a geopolitical turnaround,” Zerka said.
Although it lost power, Fidesz still has 52 representatives in parliament and a strong influence in state institutions, the judiciary and the media.
“Viktor Orbán still has ways to at least partially control the situation through his people in state institutions,” warned Zerka.
He added that there are reasons for optimism, but also for caution in the coming months.
(Vijesti.ba)
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