International reporting
In Hungary, the countryside remains a stronghold of Viktor Orban
Audio 02:42
Ruling party poster campaign to discredit Hungarian opposition leader Peter Marki-Zai.
© RFI/Balázs Andras
By: Daniel Vallot Follow
3 mins
Hungarians vote this Sunday, April 3 for crucial legislative elections.
Faced with the historic alliance concluded six months ago by the main opposition parties, the conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power for 12 years, can count on the support of the public media totally committed to his cause, but also of its electoral base, especially those in the rural areas of the country.
Report in the region of Fejér, in the center of the country.
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From our special correspondent,
We are about a hundred kilometers west of Budapest, in one of those rural areas where people vote massively for the ruling party.
For the manager of this small grocery store, the question does not even arise: this Sunday, it is for Viktor Orban that she will vote.
“
I think he's a good leader…He works hard for the nation…And he always tries to defend the interests of the country.
»
At the exit of the shop, we meet Brigit who will also vote for the party in power.
Despite soaring prices and purchasing power which, according to her, has continued to decline.
“
I bought vegetables and bread, but everything became way too expensive.
It worries us because we have three children and we have to provide for them!
»
Family and job support
With her three children, Brigit fully benefited from the family support program set up by the Hungarian government.
This family policy, which is supposed to encourage the birth rate, explains part of the support that the ruling party continues to enjoy in the countryside.
“
We pay less taxes and we received money for each birth.
This program is very good, it really helps us.
»
In the small localities that form the electoral base of Fidesz, we also welcome the program of "public works" set up by Viktor Orban.
Subsidized jobs, financed by the State and managed by the communities
“
The women distribute the mail or the newspapers, the men do more physical work, they clean the roads for example,
explains Péter Fenyves, mayor of the small town of Mór.
We pay them between 400 and 500 euros per month.
And, of course, if someone does well, then they are given a permanent job in a local administration, for example.
»
For critics of Fidesz and Viktor Orban, these jobs are only discount positions that promote clientelism.
An opposition muzzled by fear
In rural areas, the opposition exists, but it is struggling to make its voice heard.
This is what Gabor Nagy told us, an activist who came to distribute leaflets at the entrance to a small market.
“
For 10 years, the government has based all its communication on fear: fear of migrants, fear of Brussels, or homosexuals.
And fear is something very powerful Here,
Gabor explains
, a lot of people are afraid to say what they think.
They tell themselves that they are going to have problems with the town hall.
It's crazy, but that's how it is!
»
In a small street, we meet a pensioner out of sight who agrees to talk to us and confide in us his doubts about the party in power and about Viktor Orban.
But he prefers not to give his name – it could cause trouble.
“
Not for me
, he tells us,
but for my son who needs to find a job
.
»
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Hungary
Victor Orban