A Grudging Vote for Fidesz in Hungary’s Poorest Regions

In the past, Anna and Karoly say, the town was full of theatre and music festivals, among other cultural activities. Now, a new football stadium has become a substitute for cultural life. They are vocal about the lack of job opportunities and polluted air, which carries a pervasive stench of apathy and hopelessness.

"It's really bad to say only negative things about your hometown," Anna admits. "But, unfortunately, that's the truth."

They speak on condition of anonymity, saying they fear being recognised by fellow residents and losing their jobs. Anna and Karoly are not their real names.

Asked why they came back here, after a long pause, Anna sighs deeply.

Abandoned house in Erpatak, Hungary. Photo: Dariusz Kalan Bottom of the heap

Kisvarda was just one of many stops that BIRN made on its journey through Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg county. Squeezed between the borderland areas with Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania, it is Hungary's easternmost county and one of the country's poorest.

Despite doubling its GDP per capita over the last decade, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg is still at the bottom of the county wealth ranking - just as it was in 2010, when Fidesz, Hungary's rightwing populist party, secured two-thirds of the seats in the Hungarian parliament for the first time.

BIRN visited the region's cities, towns and villages whose names sound exotic to the ears of many Hungarians from the west of the country. We talked with local politicians of Fidesz and the six-party opposition alliance, but also with ordinary citizens like Anna and Karoly.

The rationale was to understand - ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for April 3 - why Hungarians keep voting in their droves for Fidesz and its leader,...