Poll: Left equals economic restrictions

An absolute majority of Hungarians, or 52-53 per cent, believe that the left would cut child and family allowances and raise the taxes levied on employees and companies. Expectations are even more pessimistic about the cost of utilities, with 64 per cent saying those would increase if the left grabbed power. These are the findings of the latest representative survey by Real-PR 93, published in the Saturday edition of the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet.

POLITICS JANUARY 15. 2022 15:16

Voters in the countryside are more pessimistic in all respects than those living in Budapest, the poll found, but even a large majority of Budapest residents expect their circumstances to be negatively affected by a left-wing victory: their proportion is 57 per cent in the capital and 65 per cent the countryside. An absolute majority, or 54-55 per cent of people outside Budapest believe that the left would raise the taxes of employees and entrepreneurs, and cut child and family allowances. Budapest residents seem to be divided on the latter two issues, with only a three per cent difference between optimistic and pessimistic opinions.

Real-PR 93 recalls that in its August survey, the proportion of those expecting unfavourable changes in the event of a left-wing victory was also significantly higher than the number of optimists, but the proportion of those who think a left-wing government would cut child and family allowances has increased by five percent, with seven per cent more respondents expecting an increase in utility bills.

They say that if the outcome of the 2022 elections hinges on people’s expectations related to living conditions, it results in a significant reduction of the chances of the left – and this is indeed a major factor in the decisions of many.

An important indication is that there is a relative majority of respondents having clearly negative expectations in the four response categories regarding all three questions, with 41 per cent expecting negative changes in the increase of utility bills if the leftist parties win the upcoming vote. The proportion of those who expect a decrease in family allowances is 30 per cent, with 28 per cent of the respondents expecting a rise in taxes levied on employees and companies, the research firm points out. In contrast, the proportion of respondents who believe that there would definitely be no negative change in the three areas is only around 10 per cent, Magyar Nemzet reports.

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election, Hungary, left, poll