The better the quality of life is in a given municipality, the lower the likelihood of supporting Fidesz-KDNP is, according to G7.hu. The economic news portal observed the results of the 2022 vote according to base income per resident in 2020 and votes for Fidesz in 2022. The portal found, however, that there is no significant correlation between rising incomes and votes for the governing party.
The results are interesting because it is generally assumed that in positive economic situations, voters are more likely to reelect the ruling party. Hungary’s economic situation over the last four years, however, has not been utterly good or bad.
While employment has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and wages have increased, inflation in Hungary is worryingly high, having reached 8.3 percent in February. The government introduced measures such as price freezes and single payment transfers, such as personal income tax refunds and pensions, which were considered to have effectively counterbalanced the impact of inflation.
The findings of 21 Kutatóközpont (21 Research Center) in March show that while consumer confidence regarding household financial situations, the national economy, and unemployment improved in January and February, support for Fidesz increased as well.
G7.hu‘s study looks specifically at personal income and standard of living. These findings show that Hungary’s poorer municipalities tend to vote noticeably in favor of Fidesz, while municipalities with a better standard of living are less likely to clearly support the governing party.
The news portal shows that the poorest municipalities in Hungary were among the most loyal of Fidesz supporters, some with 100 percent support, while a noticeable downward trend could be seen as personal income per resident increased.
The increase in personal income from 2014 to 2020, however, did not have a significant correlation with votes for Fidesz.
Featured photo illustration by Csaba Krizsán/MTI
