The Századvég Economic Research Institute has conducted a survey of public opinion on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, according to which 83 percent of Hungarians call for early negotiations and compromise in order to achieve peace.
One of the main findings of the survey is that the Hungarian public is strongly in favor of peace. A full 83 percent call for an immediate compromise, and only 15 percent see a chance of ending the war with Russia losing and withdrawing from Ukrainian territory.
The survey also shows that 83 percent of respondents believe that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is more in favor of peace.
It additionally covered the perception of the political actors involved in the war, which shows a worsening trend compared to May. The percentage of those who disapprove of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rose from 65 percent in May to 68 percent in June. However, it should be noted that Ukrainian accusations against Hungary — that Hungary harbors territorial claims against Ukraine, or that the Hungarian government did not support the oil embargo — may have also contributed to the decrease of the Ukrainian president's popularity.
Those who have a negative opinion about Vladimir Putin remained unchanged over the period under review, at 72 percent of respondents in both May and June. In addition, the majority of respondents believe that the parties involved are not interested in peace, and nearly three-quarters of respondents (74 percent) expect the Russian-Ukrainian war to drag on, up 8 percent from May, Századvég reports.
For U.S. President Joe Biden, disapproval has risen from 62 percent to 64 percent, while 49 percent of Hungarians have a negative view of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, compared to 33 percent who see her positively. Her announcement that Brussels is launching a rule of law mechanism against Hungary, which could jeopardize the disbursement of some EU funds, may have played a crucial role in this.