Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s approval rating surged between April and October, largely on account of his handling of the migrant crisis, according to a poll released yesterday by the government-friendly think-tank the Nezopont Institute.

Hungary became part of a major transit route for migrants heading into the heart of the EU via the Balkans, with thousands fleeing war and poverty camping out in woodland and train stations, or sleeping on city streets, including in Budapest.

Mr Orban’s government drew widespread criticism from human rights groups and Western politicians for a publicity campaign linking migration to terrorism risks and a loss of jobs and for erecting a razor wire-topped fence along its southern border.

Hungarians approve frontier fence

Nezopont said Hungarians approved of Mr Orban’s moves and after the country completed the frontier fence on October 16 to keep out most of the migrants, his approval rating stood at 43 per cent, far above his April reading of 28 per cent. His ruling Fidesz party’s approval stood at 34 per cent, its highest in the past year, and the best since a deep erosion of its support last year caused by protests against a later-withdrawn plan for taxing Internet data traffic, the institute said. Other pollsters measured similar party support trends.

“We see a clear national consensus in the immigration issue and that clearly has an effect on the high approval rating of the prime minister,” Nezopont executive director Csaba Fodor said.