Recently, several statements by Péter Márki-Zay have come to light, in which
The popularity of Péter Márki-Zay has further declined
From January to February, the proportion of those who had a negative view of the left’s candidate for prime minister rose from 59 percent to 62 percent, while the politician was unable to get new partisans, according to the latest survey conducted by Századvég. The survey mapped the popularity of Péter Márki-Zay among politically active Hungarians.
Scandalous statements accompany the campaign of the left-wing candidate for prime minister
the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely have expressed his view on public issues, enclosing the generally accepted rules of Hungarian political culture in brackets, made insulting remarks to certain groups of voters,
and made proposals resulting in significant social rejection. Márki-Zay referred to, among other things, “drunk”, “brainwashed” and “simple, ignorant rural” voters and spoke about the representation of “communists” and “fascists” at a campaign event. We should also remember that, in the view of the left-liberal candidate for head of government, “no doctor is needed for a delivery” as “it is not a disease”. In addition, in the autumn of 2021 he explained that “Yes, it must be accepted that there is no emergency or obstetric care in the vicinity of those living in rural towns or villages”.
An increasing number of people are forming a negative opinion about Márki-Zay
In the light of the statements mentioned, it is less surprising that the camp of those who reject the left-wing candidate for head of government is constantly growing. The latest research data show that
in February 2022, 62 percent of respondents had an unfavourable opinion about Péter Márki-Zay,
thus the proportion of those who have a negative opinion about the politician increased by 3 percentage points compared to the January data and by a total of 15 percentage points compared to October 2021.
At the same time, it can be stated that Márki-Zay could not have new voters side with him. The survey shows that in February, like the data in January 2022,
33 percent of respondents were positive about the candidate for prime minister of the left-wing parties, whereas in October 2021, 42 percent of Hungarians were partial to him.
Methodology
CATI method, n=1000, among the politically active Hungarian adult population (politically active = who promise to vote for sure or probably vote), data collection: February 2022