Fidesz’ dominant position is largely unchallenged, the opposition has failed to exploit the government’s weaknesses to improve its standing in the polls. There are some shadows for Fidesz, but at this point there are no strong indications that it might face strong competitors in the short run.

If you believe the opinion polls, Fidesz can’t do anything wrong. Its popularity relative to other parties is astoundingly stable, especially in light of its more controversial acts. Explanations abound, most of them placing the blame squarely on the weakness of the opposition. We tend to agree, but wish to provide a slightly more balanced picture: thus far Fidesz has been careful to avoid antagonising voters where they tend to be most sensitive, i.e. their wallets.

For a party whose political death has been pronounced by critics numerous times – often before, but also since its humongous victory in April – Fidesz continues to display amazing strength in terms of popular approval. Its arrogant politics, Fidesz critics claim, will cause Fidesz to lose ground and – sooner or later, depending on the analyst, but definitely in the foreseeable future – cede political control to another player. The critics are not necessarily wrong, but there is no sign of this development yet.

Policy Solutions' analysis on the dominant position of Fidesz can be downloaded from here.