Second, NATO membership and admission to the European Union were chiefly part of the SzDSz platform, but because they were accomplished under the Socialists, the MSzP took the credit. The economic upswing and the invitations to start accession negotiations with the EU and NATO have helped the Socialist party to stabilize its leadership. In short, many of the Socialists who have long opposed the coalition with the Free Democrats are now working against it. It is not achieving results. Many of its supporters have switched over to the Socialists or the Young Democrats.
Prospects vary for the currrent opposition parties.
The popularity of the Smallholder Party is decreasing. An unknown factor is the party preference of skilled workers. Over the last few years, they have changed their political orientation several times. Presently, it seems that the opposition parties, even if they manage to cooperate, have less support over all than the Socialist-Free Democrat coalition. It is known that Socialist party voters have kept their party preferences the most stable since 1994, and they are more active and determined to participate in the election than other parties' voters.