Pew Research: 19 percent of Hungarians have confidence in Putin, but only 11 percent in Zelensky

Hungarians have a blatant lack of confidence towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a new Pew Research Center poll, reviewed by 444.

The Pew Research Center conducted the survey between February 20 and May 22, 2023, in 24 countries, with the participation of more than 30,000 people.

The data reveal that people around the world continue to have a negative view of Russia and Vladimir Putin. 82 percent of adults have an unfavourable opinion of Russia, and a similar number do not trust Putin to do the right thing in dealing with world affairs. However, people in Greece, Hungary and India stand out in terms of their views of Russia and Putin. These three countries are also more committed to Russian oil and gas imports, according to the survey.

19 percent of Hungarian respondents believe Putin is doing the right thing in terms of world politics, but 50 percent of them do not trust the Russian president.

Globally, Zelensky is viewed more positively, but he seems to be a more divisive figure, with greater variation between countries. 51% of respondents are at least somewhat confident that the Ukrainian president is doing the right thing in terms of global affairs, while 39% of those surveyed either have little or no confidence in Zelensky.

Hungary leads the way in terms of distrust towards the Ukrainian president, with only 11 per cent saying they trust him to some extent and 86 per cent saying they don't trust him at all.

The proportion of those who don't trust the Ukrainian leader in Greece, Mexico, Italy, Israel, Brazil and Argentina is at least half as high as in Hungary.

The survey also covered NATO. In the member states surveyed, the military alliance is viewed more favourably since the beginning of the war. The only exceptions are Hungary and the United States, where NATO's popularity has slightly declined, with 57% of the population now having a positive view of it.

Among the most influential international leaders, Hungarians still trust French President Emmanuel Macron the most, but even this is only 30 percent of the public. According to 444, the results show that among the leaders surveyed, Hungarian society distrusts those who are most closely linked to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the perception of Putin and Joe Biden is identical.