A liberal pundit looks into the key determinants of the April election. He suspects that the election will hinge on either the government’s or the opposition’s ability to vilify each other.

Telex’s Szabolcs Dull sees the April election as the most important political issue in Hungary in 2022 and expects the two sides to be unscrupulous in selecting their campaign arsenals. The liberal commentator suspects that both the government and the opposition side will try to instrumentalize scandals and mobilize their voters through muckraking and hate campaigns against each other. Dull thinks that the decisive question will be whether voters hate PM Orbán more than DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány. Other key issues that will determine the outcome will be the development of the pandemic and the implications of the government’s spending spree (see BudaPost January 1, December 21 and December 11), Dull suggests. Another important factor will be Hungary’s dispute with the EU over the rule of law and funding (see BudaPost December 4), he thinks. A final important issue will be whether the opposition can show unity or will fall prey to internal disputes.