Incumbent Budapest mayor István Tarlós is more popular with voters than his two closest opposition challengers combined, the daily Magyar Nemzet said on Friday, citing a fresh poll by the Nezőpont research institute.
According to the poll commissioned by the paper, Tarlós has the backing of 51 percent of decided voters. His main rival, Gergely Karácsony, the joint Budapest mayoral candidate of the leftist opposition parties, is supported by 43 percent of voters, while Róbert Puzsér, an independent candidate, is backed by 6 percent.
Fully 62 percent of respondents said Tarlós had the best chance of securing the most funding for the capital, while just 9 percent said Karácsony would be more capable. The paper pointed out that 56 percent of opposition voters said Tarlos could obtain the most funding.
Magyar Nemzet said Karácsony’s aspirations were made more difficult by the fact that the majority — 58 percent — of respondents believe Budapest’s mayor should be prepared to work together with the government, while only 30 percent say it is not necessary for the mayor to cooperate with the country’s leaders.
Nezőpont said the data indicated that a portion of opposition voters would be willing to cross over to Tarlós.
The institute surveyed a representative sample of 500 Budapest voters by phone between August 23 and 27.
featured photo: Tamás Kovács/MTI