Will Viktor Orbán leave power if he loses the April elections? How the Budapest government responds to an American journalist's question

“It is inappropriate and unfair to assume that Orbán would act in any way against the will of the Hungarian people,” said the Hungarian foreign minister, quoted by the Telex website.

“There is no politician more democratic than the Hungarian prime minister, not only in Europe, but in the whole world,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday, referring to his boss, Viktor Orbán.

“The Hungarian prime minister ran in every election in Hungary as the leader of the Fidesz party, in all of them. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost,” added Szijjártó on ATV's Egyenes Beszéd (Direct Speech).

Szijjártó, writes the Telex website, thus commented on a question asked earlier the same day by a CBS reporter to Viktor Orbán, during the joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The American journalist had asked Orbán if he would accept leaving the government in the event of a tie in the April 12 elections.

It is inappropriate and unfair to assume that Orbán would act in any way against the will of the Hungarian people, Szijjártó said, adding that he was certain that Fidesz would win April's parliamentary elections.

Trump's support for Orbán

Szijjártó's statement came on the day US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Budapest, announcing the Trump administration's support for Orbán.

At a conference with the Hungarian prime minister, Rubio hailed the “golden age of relations” between the US and Hungary.

“I can tell you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success,” Rubio told Orbán. “We are entering a golden era of relations between our countries because of the relationship you have with the US president,” added the US secretary of state, quoted by Reuters.

“Your success is our success,” Rubio told Orbán. “The relationship we have here in Central Europe through you is essential and vital to our national interests for years to come,” he added.

What the polls say two months before the elections

Peter Magyar's center-right Tisza party is leading Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party ahead of the April 12 election, according to an opinion poll published on February 10, cited by Reuters.

Although pro-government polls put Fidesz in the lead, the 21 Institute poll published by the 24.hu news site was the second this week to put Tisza in the lead and showed that a third party, the far-right “Our Fatherland”, will win enough seats to enter parliament.

One thing is certain, Orban faces the biggest challenge to his rule since Fidesz swept to victory in 2010, although the outcome remains highly uncertain, with opinion polls showing many voters still undecided.

The 21 Institute poll, conducted between January 28 and February 2, places Tisza at 35 percent of the vote among all voters, up from 34 percent in December. Fidesz is credited with 28% of the vote, up from 26%.

The poll showed that 53% of decided voters support Tisza and 37% support Fidesz, a level similar to December.

The poll showed that Mi Hazank (Our Fatherland) would be the third party to cross the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament.

A survey conducted by the Publicus Institute and published on Monday by the Nepszava newspaper showed that 48% of voters who decided to go to the polls support Tisza and 40% support Fidesz, and Mi Hazank has more than 5% support. The poll also showed 27 percent of voters were undecided, up from 31 percent in December.