Nézőpont Intézet has recently released the findings of survey results that looked at how Hungarians perceive the threats posed by the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. What they found shows that most Hungarians think the current state of affairs is quite alarming. The poll was conducted between 17 April and 19 April, on a sample of 1,000.
A clear majority, 54 per cent believe that conflict could escalate into a World War III.
Even more people, 55 per cent share the concern that one of the belligerent parties would deploy nuclear weapons. However, quite a sizable minority have the exact opposite views on these questions. 42 per cent see no realistic possibility of another world war, while 41 per cent thinks the same way about the nuclear threat.
Either way, the overall public mood concerning the war raging right next door has become a lot gloomier since the conflict started. As Nézőpont pointed out, at the beginning of the Russian invasion, many Hungarians believed that the conflict would see a quick conclusion. Alas, it was not the case.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is certainly in the camp of those who see a new world war as a real possibility.
On 31 March, he shared an image of himself on social media, with the caption ‘The threat of world war is real!’. On 14 April, he said on public radio: ‘If there is a world war, it will be a nuclear war,’ a message he also shared in Facebook post—so, the public can have a pretty firm idea about how the Prime Minister would have answered these poll questions.
