A poll revealed that the vast majority of Hungarians, 78 per cent, say they believe Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Wuhan coronavirus response was better than other European countries.
The nationwide telephone survey, which involved 1,000 participants, revealed that only five per cent of Hungarians thought that other European countries did a better job at stopping the spread of the Chinese virus.
A total of 75 per cent said they were very or moderately satisfied with the government response overall, with just nine per cent said the measures undertaken by Prime Minister Orbán were excessive, newspaper Magyar Hírlap reported on Tuesday.
Three-quarters of Hungarians say that the government acted in a timely manner in response to the outbreak opposed to 13 per cent who said the government did not act quickly enough.
The Hungarian response to the coronavirus, which saw Orbán and his government enact emergency measures, was widely criticised by leftists, liberals, and the establishment media.
Members of the European People’s Party, a European parliamentary group of which Orbán’s party Fidesz is a member, went as far as to demand Fidesz be kicked out of the group over the measures.
“The fight against COVID-19 requires extensive measures, however, the virus cannot be used as a pretext to extend the state of emergency indefinitely. We fear that Prime Minister Orbán will use his newly achieved power to further extend the government’s grip on civil society,” members of the group said.
Former United States UN ambassador Susan Rice went even further and called for Hungary to be kicked out of the European Union itself.
Earlier this month, while many other European countries are still under emergency measures, Prime Minister Orbán announced that the emergency powers to fight coronavirus would end by the end of May.
A bill to rescind power back to parliament was introduced on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting the day before which discussed details of ending the emergency powers period.
Justice Minister Judit Varga commented on the opposition to Hungary’s coronavirus strategy, saying: “Instead of giving support… the opposition mounted an unprecedented disinformation campaign, together with the mainstream liberal media, in Hungary and internationally.”