Nearly two-thirds of population believes Hungary would no longer be democracy if transparency law were passed, survey finds

According to more than two-thirds of the total population of Hungary, the purpose of the so-called transparency bill is to hinder the operations of the independent press and NGOs critical of the government, according to a recent survey by the IDEA Institute, 24.hu has reported. The survey found that 63 percent of the adult population believes that Hungary would no longer be a democracy if the bill were passed.

The IDEA Institute examined Hungarians' view of the bill through multiple questions included in the survey which was conducted between May 31 and June 6, 2025.

The goal of the survey was to find out what percentage of the adult population agrees with the objective of the bill, how people view the role of the Sovereignty Protection Office in this matter, and how many support the sanctions outlined in the bill.

According to IDEA's survey, by early June, three-quarters of the adult population had heard of the bill. Those less likely to have heard about it were residents of villages (56 percent), individuals with only a primary school education (62 percent), people aged 40–49 (63 percent), and individuals who are uncertain about their political preferences (65 percent).

Respondents were also asked to briefly describe what they knew about the bill. The vast majority wrote that the bill seeks to restrict freedom of speech and of the press, but many mentioned the dismantling of democracy, the silencing of NGOs and the independent press, and in general any voices critical of the government as the goal of the proposal.

At the same time, as IDEA noted to Telex, the proportion of those who have not heard of the legislative proposal is higher among those with low educational attainment levels. Members of this group don't know anything about the bill or don't know enough about it to form an opinion on more precise questions about it, which is why the proportion of those answering these questions with "I don't know" was higher than in the case of other groups.

As its goal, the proposal states that it aims to protect Hungary's sovereignty from foreign-funded Hungarian organizations which influence public life and whose activities portray the country's independence, democratic nature, the rule of law, its national unity, and the Hungarian position on issues such as family, marriage, biological sexes, peace, security, cooperation with other countries, constitutionality, and Christian culture in a negative light.

The survey revealed that just over a fifth of the adult population identified with the objectives set forth in the bill. While 87 percent of Fidesz-KDNP voters agreed with these objectives, the same is true of just 22 percent of Mi Hazánk voters.

According to the legislative proposal, if the Sovereignty Protection Office deems the activities of a foreign-funded organization a threat to Hungary's sovereignty, it can recommend that the government put the organization on a list. Only a quarter of the adult population agreed with this. Seventy-eight percent of Fidesz-KDNP voters supported the SPO being authorized to compile such a list. Among Mi Hazánk voters, however, the proportion of supporters is very low, a mere 25 percent, which is in line with the average.

Thirty-two percent of the country's adult population agreed with the option of sanctioning organizations on the list by requiring them to submit annual asset declarations, which would then be published by the Minister of Justice. However, only 15 percent of the population supported banning organizations on the list from collecting the one percent income tax donations in the future. Only 35 percent of adults supported at least one of the sanctions proposed in the bill, in most cases this was the obligation to file a declaration of assets.

The IDEA Institute concluded that the majority of Hungarian society does not support the transparency bill. At the beginning of June, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the adult population held the view that if the bill were passed, Hungary could no longer be considered a democracy. Forty-three percent of respondents said that the government's only goal with submitting the bill was to divert attention.

In early June, 78 percent of Mi Hazánk voters also believed that the purpose of the bill was to silence voices critical of the government. Seventy-five percent said that the government was only trying to divert attention from the grave problems the country is facing.

Even 32 percent of Fidesz-KDNP voters believe that while the objectives of the bill are reasonable, the way it proposes achieving these would do more harm than good to the country. Seventeen percent of the ruling party's supporters also agreed that the real goal of the proposal is to silence voices critical of the government.

Fidesz MP János Halász submitted the bill that would make it extremely difficult for any organizations operating in Hungary which have received funding from abroad to continue to operate. Viktor Orbán, Antal Rogán, and nearly all members of the Fidesz–KDNP faction joined Halász's motion. However, 20 of the 135 MPs in the group did not co-sign the proposal. Among them were ministers János Lázár, Gergely Gulyás, and Tibor Navracsics, which also suggests that even within Fidesz, not everyone agrees with the proposal in its current form. The bill may be reintroduced in the fall.