Hungary goes to the polls next week, with the country deeply doubtful over the trustworthiness of the electoral process.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is seeking a fifth consecutive term, but a majority of voters believe the elections will be dishonest. Whereas people in most countries rank the economy as their most pressing domestic issue, in Hungary it is politics and the government, Gallup research found.
Orbán has aligned himself with the Kremlin — reports this week said his foreign minister tried to ease EU sanctions for Moscow’s benefit — but Hungarians generally lean toward Europe rather than Russia. His party trails in the polls, but a cowed media and gerrymandered constituencies “tilt the playing field heavily in his favor,” Politico reported.
