Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, center, speaks with Lorinc Mészaros, a childhood friend, during a football match in his hometown of Felcsut, Hungary, on May 19, 2019. LASZLO BALOGH / AP
As if the pessimism of polling institutes wasn't enough, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban now has another challenge to contend with: a downturn in the stock market. In what appears to be a sign that investors increasingly expect the nationalist leader to lose the legislative elections on Sunday, April 12, several companies owned by people close to Orban have seen their shares plummet on the Budapest Stock Exchange. This comes as polls increasingly show the pro-European conservative challenger Péter Magyar well ahead of Orban in the run-up to the vote.
The examples are numerous. For example, Granit Bank, which is majority-owned by the investment fund of Istvan Tiborcz, Orban's son-in-law, has lost more than 20% of its value since the start of January. Trucking company Waberer's, also indirectly controlled by Tiborcz, has dropped over 10%. The telecommunications and defense company 4iG, which is closely tied to the government, has plunged more than 38%, while MBH Bank – known for providing the loan that allowed far-right Rassemblement National candidate Marine Le Pen to finance her 2022 French presidential campaign – is down 12%.
