(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban doubled his poll lead a little more than a month before a general election, according to a survey taken just as Russia started its invasion of Ukraine.
Orban's Fidesz party had the support of 50% of decided voters compared with 40% for an alliance of six opposition parties, pollster Median said on the HVG news website on Wednesday. The poll was taken between Feb. 22 and 26. Median's survey in December showed Fidesz with a 5-point lead.
“In times of crises, support strengthens for leaders who are in a position to act and that probably triggered the jump,” Median pollster Endre Hann said in an article published in HVG. Hungary, among the countries that borders Ukraine to the west, holds elections on April 3.
Since the war started on Feb. 24, Hungary's opposition has tried to attack Orban for his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his refusal to scrap the Russian-backed expansion of Hungary's sole nuclear power plant. Thousands attended several opposition-organized anti-Russia rallies, including one late Tuesday in Budapest.
Orban has countered that he backs European Union sanctions against Russia, but is urging “strategic calm” in the face of criticism that he's not fully aligned with western partners. While his government has opened the door to refugees and backed Ukraine's membership in the EU, it has also banned the transport of lethal military aid via Hungary.
“After the first political shock it may take the next few weeks to see which party can adjust more successfully as the campaigns resume around a mostly new theme,” Hann said.
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