Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's prospects of winning the 2026 parliamentary elections have become uncertain due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country. Rising inflation, falling morale, and declining birth rates are the main factors that call into question the strategy of Orban and his Fidesz party. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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Hungary has reportedly experienced the worst inflation in the European Union since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Hungarians have not seen such a decline in living standards since Fidesz came to power in 2010," said Balazs St. Ivanyi, a political economist at Aston University who specializes in Central Europe.
Orbán spent $5.35 billion before the last election in 2022 to fend off the threat of his previous opposition rival, and this vote brought him another victory.
None of the 12 economists surveyed in a January Reuters poll expects Hungary's economy to reach the 3.4% growth Orban budgeted for this year. Erste Bank, last year's most accurate predictor of Hungarian economic performance, forecasts growth at 2%.
The European Commission predicts growth of 1.8%, which, while impressive compared to the stagnation faced by some eurozone governments, will be the limit of the weakest three-year period before national elections in Orban's 15-year rule.
In addition, Orban plans to increase family allowances in the second half of the year and even more in 2026, but the birth rate in Hungary has now fallen to its lowest level in the last ten years.
According to some polls, Peter Magyar's center-right Tisza party, which is gaining popularity, has overtaken Fidesz. According to experts, this raises the "real possibility" that Orban will lose the election for the first time since coming to power in 2010.
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