Hungary's Tisza party keeps its lead as number of undecided voters drops, poll shows


FILE PHOTO: Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, waves a Hungarian flag at a rally near the venue of ruling Fidesz party closed doors meeting where Prime Minister Viktor Orban discusses campaign issues with party officials in Kotcse, Hungary September 7, 2025. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo

BUDAPEST, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Hungary's main ⁠opposition Tisza party kept a 10-point lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban's governing ⁠nationalist Fidesz party in February, according to a poll published on Friday, ‌ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for April 12.

Orban is facing the biggest challenge to his power since his Fidesz party came to power in a landslide victory in 2010, although the outcome remains uncertain.

Centre-right Tisza ​is led by former government insider Peter Magyar, who ⁠has said his party will tackle ⁠corruption, unlock billions of euros in frozen European Union funds to boost the economy and ⁠firmly ‌anchor Hungary in the EU and NATO.

The latest poll, conducted between January 31 and February 6 by Idea Institute, found that 48% of decided voters ⁠backed Tisza while 38% supported Orban's Fidesz, unchanged from the ​previous month.

Idea Institute also said ‌in a post on its official Facebook page that the number of undecided ⁠voters had ​dropped by 3 percentage points to 24% in a month.

"In the past month, many voters found a party to support, and smaller parties were also able to benefit from that," they said.

According ⁠to the survey, two more parties would win enough ​votes to enter parliament, as both the far-right Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) and left-wing Democratic Coalition (Demokratikus Koalicio) were supported by 5% of voters.

The April vote will have major implications for Europe and ⁠its far-right political forces. Orban, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has often clashed with the EU on a range of issues while maintaining cordial ties with Russia and criticising Ukraine.

The EU accuses Orban of eroding democratic values in Hungary, which he denies.

Most ​polls have shown Fidesz trailing Tisza despite voter-pleasing measures after ⁠three years of economic stagnation in Hungary, which has also endured the EU's worst inflationary ​surge following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, pro-government pollsters show ‌a Fidesz lead.

A February poll published also ​on Friday by the pro-government Nezopont Institute found that 46% of voters supported Orban's Fidesz while 40% backed Tisza.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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