Anti-migrant feelings peak

A pro-government analyst believes that with its response to the refugee crisis the government has consolidated its ruling position for a long time to come, while the opposition doesn’t seem to have the stamina to become a real alternative in the foreseeable future.

In Magyar Idők, political scientist János Zila reads the latest opinion polls as proof that politically speaking, the government has found an efficient approach to the flow of migrants moving across Hungary. Its rigorous stance has put the right-wing radical Jobbik on the defensive. As one survey suggests that 82 per cent of the population favour more resolute measures against migration, the Socialist Party has adopted an extremely cautious attitude. The only opposition party that is sending clear messages is Ferenc Gyurcsány’s Democratic Coalition, with its leader hosting migrants for a few nights and protesting at the border fence built to curb the flow of illegal migrants. Nevertheless, the Democratic Coalition could not increase its constituency over the past few months. It seems as though the opposition is playing in the second league of a championship, where the first league is dominated by the government side, Zila concludes.

Tags: Gyurcsány, Jobbik, migration, MSZP