On April 12, parliamentary elections were held in Hungary, with a record turnout of nearly 80%, resulting in a change of the ruling party in that country. The elections ended the 16-year uninterrupted rule of the right-wing Fidesz party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Following the vote, power was taken over by the previous opposition party TISZA, led by Péter Magyar, securing a constitutional majority in the unicameral parliament. Politicians from the winning party aim to repair relations with the European Union. The future Prime Minister of Hungary announced that his first diplomatic visit would be to Warsaw, marking a step towards rebuilding regional cooperation among the Visegrád Group countries.

After the election results were announced in Hungary, we asked Poles about their views on the elections and how they assessed their consequences. The majority declared that they followed the elections with interest: 64% confirmed that it was a topic that attracted their attention, while 36% expressed a lack of interest.

Did you follow the recent parliamentary elections in Hungary?

The election results in Hungary were most often met with positive or neutral reactions from Poles. As many as 43% welcomed TISZA's victory over the Fidesz-KDNP coalition with hope. Slightly fewer, 39% of Poles, approached the election results with indifference. Only 11% of Poles expressed concern about their consequences, while 7% had no opinion on the matter.

Did you react to the outcome of elections in Hungary with:

When assessing the significance of the Hungarian elections from the perspective of Poland's interests, respondents most often claimed that it was a beneficial change (41%). Only 9% assessed it as unfavourable. Meanwhile, 27% believed that the election results would have no significance for our country. Nearly one-quarter (23%) were unable to answer this question.

Will the change of government in Hungary be for Poland:

The most positive attitude towards the election results in Hungary was held by those with leftist views. Left-wing supporters predominantly accepted the results with hope (74%) and expressed confidence that they would be beneficial for Poland (71%). Opinions among centrists were somewhat more evenly distributed—53% of them welcomed the election results with hope, and 49% believed that the change of power in Hungary would also benefit Poland. Those with right-wing views remained the most sceptical about the outcome of the Hungarian elections. The largest number from this group approached the results with indifference (51%) and expressed the opinion that from Poland's perspective, they are of no significance (37%).