survey covering eight member states of the European Union (EU) - with a lot of interesting things in it .

The "judgment" of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received a separate chapter in the approximately 100-page study. It turned out that although the prime minister is considered by many to be an "illiberal icon" in Central and Eastern Europe, 31 percent of respondents have a positive opinion of the Hungarian politician.

However, where the support of the Hungarian Prime Minister is high - in Bulgaria, Slovakia 48; 43 in Hungary; 32 percent in Romania; (meanwhile: 28 in the Czech Republic; 18 in Poland and Latvia; and 13 percent in Lithuania) - political instability (lack of trust in the government), oppression of LGBTQ rights, or pro-Russia views can be detected there. Or all three at the same time, maybe separately, or at least two factors combined.

But as the researchers claim,

Slovaks and Bulgarians also like Viktor Orbán more than Hungarians, who is also popular in Romania; but the Poles were disillusioned with it.

According to the GLOBSEC poll, Russia remains a threat to the countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In light of this, there is quite a lot of confidence in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); as well as the desire for security, which can be guaranteed primarily by the United States (US) in the region. Curiosity,
Slovakia proved to be the only country out of the eight examined EU member states where the United States is perceived as a security threat.
Sanctions against Russia are supported and even considered effective by the respondents; and those who - for the most part - do not see China as a security threat.
Cover photo: MTI/Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer