One in ten Hungarians
has cut off a relationship
over political division

For one third of people, even talking respectfully with someone who thinks differently politically is already a difficulty,and one in ten Hungarians has already cut off even a family or friendship tiebecause of public-life division — this emerges from the online survey we conducted between Christmas 2025 and January 2026, with the involvement of more than a thousand people.

Our survey examined how public life appears in conversations among family, friends and acquaintances, what conflicts it causes, and how people relate to political division — a few months before the parliamentary elections.

Why and when did we measure?

The aim of our research was to explore what role politics plays in people’s everyday relationships in the pre-election period, especially in conversations among family, friends and acquaintances. We were curious how much public life becomes a source of conflict in these interactions, and what emotional and mental impact the appearance of political topics has in everyday life.

In addition, we also examined how strong the need for dialogue and for common causes beyond political fault lines is, alongside the sense of division. We timed the research precisely to the Christmas and holiday period to find outwhether division eases in the part of the year considered the most intimate.

A divided society, deteriorating tone

Intimacy or not, a two-thirds majority held the view that Hungarian society is very divided on political issues. Moreover,76 percentof people feel that the tone of political debates has continued to deteriorate in Hungary even in recent years, and 57 percent feel this deterioration is extreme.

One third of respondents stated that they find it difficult to talk respectfully with someone who thinks very differently politically. Indeed, for a quarter of people, their opinion of the person also worsens if it turns out they have different political views. One in ten people has already cut off a relationship with a close relative or friend because of political differences of opinion.

The chances of dialogue

Does dialogue even make sense in this situation? One in ten people believes it does not — they no longer even want to talk to compatriots with different views. More than half of respondents are more permissive, however, and willing to talk — but not about politics. A telling example is that, according to research participants, the best strategy is to rather not even bring up politics at Christmas.

The majority also avoid disputes in the online space: only26 percentof respondents have ever had a conflict on social media due to political differences of opinion.

Mental burden and the need for dialogue

An interesting duality also emerges regarding mental burden. Although the presence of politics is a source of tension for many,84.6 percentof respondents stated that political debates cause them no, or only moderate, emotional or mental burden. This suggests that political conflicts are often present as a latent tension lurking in the background, rather than as a continuously damaging experience.

One of the most striking lessons of our research is that, despite the sense of division, there is a strong social need for dialogue.72.8 percentof respondents consider it important that people with different political views talk to each other. This figure shows that many do not want to shut themselves off from political differences but would rather steer them into more manageable, more humane frameworks.