Will Hungary's undecided voters tip the election?

Will Hungary's undecided voters tip the election?
By Euronews
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With only a few days to go before Hungary's general election, the country's future appears to be in the hands of undecided voters, according to some polls.

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With only a few days to go before Hungary's general election, the country's future appears to be in the hands of undecided voters, according to some polls.

However it's widely agreed that they're unlikely to prevent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from securing a third consecutive term and continuing to build what he once described as a liberal democracy.

There have been no candidate debates as Orbán has hardly mentioned the opposition during the campaign. He's made it clear he doesn't even consider them a threat.

The ruling Fidesz party hasn't even published a manifesto. Instead, it's constantly evoked ever present dangers in its campaign, identifying illegal migrants and financier George Soros as enemies of the state.

But the opposition has been at pains to point out that the government has freely given out so-called "Golden Visas" - a residency permit for those who can pay for it, regardless, critics say, of whether the candidates pose security risks to Hungary or the EU.

Most people who've tried to enter Hungary over the past four years have been met by a wall, or a fence to be more specific.

Orbán's government said it erected the barrier to protect the country.

But soon after, the government set its sights on George Soros, whom Orbán said wanted migrants to come to Europe. He also accused him of manipulating Brussels, the UN, the opposition and NGOs.

On the campaign trail, Orban used his National Holiday speech to invite his supporters to wage war against these "internal forces."

"We will fight against what the empire of George Soros does and intends to do with Hungary, this is our homeland, this is our life, we don't have another, so we will fight for it until the end and never give up," said Orbán.

Political analyst Zoltan Cegledi told euronews he believes the election will decide what relationship the Hungarian government will have with the European Union: "This election will definitely determine whether Hungary wants to stay a European country or if it will be engaged to Putin and Russia; and starts, or it's better to say, it continues to get closer to those already undemocratic solutions that Putin is so much of an expert in, and that, in other dimensions, Turkey uses."

Corruption too has also been a big talking point in the campaign with the government linked to multi-million euro scandals on an almost daily basis.

However, a divided opposition has struggled to show an alternative to the Hungarian voters. The second biggest party appears to be Jobbik, which has changed a lot over the last few years. It's tried to rid its extreme far-right leanings in favour of becoming a people's party that's attractive to left-wing voters too.

Some of the left-wing parties decided to join their forces, but their combined strength isn't expected to be enough to worry Fidesz, especially without Jobbik.

Even if they have chosen Gergely Karácsony, one of the country's most popular young politicians as their candidate to be prime minister.

There are many more parties on the ballot papers. Some are not widely known at all. Others it seems were formed simply to spend campaign money from the state, or to strengthen or weaken or parties. It all makes the final outcome difficult to call with a third of voters have no party preference.

Polls suggest more than half of those undecided want a new government and a new prime minister.

Overall, too it appears, there are more people who want a change in government, but the election system means Fidesz, with its likely share of the vote, will come out on top.

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