Disgusted by the state of their economy and the quality of their politicians, Hungarians are abandoning their country in droves. An election in April is unlikely to lure them home.
Agnes left her job in a multinational company in Budapest in 2012 and bought a one-way ticket to Brussels.
One day she might return to Hungary but for now "the ubiquitous corruption, suspicion, bad humour and lack of perspective" are not tempting her to pack her bags.
"I could have lived with this if I'd seen a possibility for change in the country's political, economic or social climate," said the 39-year-old press officer, who only gave her first name.
"That possibility does not exist."
While their neighbours in Poland and the Baltics left in droves after the fall of the Iron Curtain and again after they joined the European Union, Hungarians mostly stayed put.
But the 2008 financial crisis kicked off a wave of emigration that has steadily grown ever since.
In 2012 alone, 17,000 Hungarians applied for a British National Insurance number, compared to just 14,000 in the three years to 2010.
By the start of this year, some 500,000 Hungarians -- around one in 20 -- were living abroad, according to government figures.
Some 300,000 had moved to Britain, 100,000 to Germany, 50,000 to Austria and the rest were scattered around the 28-nation EU.
That is comparable to the mass departures of Hungarian history -- the exodus to the United States in the early 1900s, and the 176,000 who fled in the wake of the 1956 uprising and its brutal suppression by Soviet tanks.
"The trend is everywhere. There isn't a family that hasn't been touched," said Endre Sik, an analyst with social research institute Tarki.
Most worrying for the authorities is that half of those leaving are under 30, according to the institute. Hungary is losing its best and brightest young minds to the rest of Europe.
- 'Come home' -
With Hungarians expected at the polls on April 6 to elect a new government, both the incumbent conservative Fidesz party -- which is widely expected to win another term -- and the centre-left opposition are hoping to win over these disillusioned voters.
One opposition leader, former prime minister Gordon Bajnai, has called for the state to guarantee a job to all youngsters under 30 who have been unemployed for six months or more.
Targeted subsidies to all entrepreneurs under 35 who choose to remain in Hungary are also in the works.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party set up a body in 2011 called "Come Home", where families looking to return to Hungary can find all the legal and administrative information they need, including tips on how to write a resume or perform well in a job interview.
But for analyst Endre Sik, the solution to the exodus lies elsewhere.
"The only way to get Hungarians to come back is to put Hungary's economy back on the path to strong and sustainable growth and at the same time to create a pleasant political climate," he said.
"These two factors are indispensable."
Since winning a landslide victory in 2010, Orban's government has faced mounting criticism for its autocratic policies.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned last month that the economy, although out of recession, was being held back by limited investment and too much government intervention.
For those Hungarians living abroad, casting a ballot ahead of April 6 will be a slow and difficult process and some may just stay away from the polling station altogether.
"We don't want to vote -- we don't see any decent options," said London-based Eszenyi Karola who insists she has come to Britain to stay.
"We don't even want to go back to Hungary. We're here to make a new life for ourselves."
When he came to power, Orban promised to solve Hungary's unemployment problem by creating one million new jobs.
Now a popular joke goes: "Orban promised one million new jobs in 2010. Well he did create half of that... he just never said they would be in Hungary."
Disgusted by the state of their economy and the quality of their politicians, Hungarians are abandoning their country in droves. An election in April is unlikely to lure them home.
Agnes left her job in a multinational company in Budapest in 2012 and bought a one-way ticket to Brussels.
One day she might return to Hungary but for now “the ubiquitous corruption, suspicion, bad humour and lack of perspective” are not tempting her to pack her bags.
“I could have lived with this if I’d seen a possibility for change in the country’s political, economic or social climate,” said the 39-year-old press officer, who only gave her first name.
“That possibility does not exist.”
While their neighbours in Poland and the Baltics left in droves after the fall of the Iron Curtain and again after they joined the European Union, Hungarians mostly stayed put.
But the 2008 financial crisis kicked off a wave of emigration that has steadily grown ever since.
In 2012 alone, 17,000 Hungarians applied for a British National Insurance number, compared to just 14,000 in the three years to 2010.
By the start of this year, some 500,000 Hungarians — around one in 20 — were living abroad, according to government figures.
Some 300,000 had moved to Britain, 100,000 to Germany, 50,000 to Austria and the rest were scattered around the 28-nation EU.
That is comparable to the mass departures of Hungarian history — the exodus to the United States in the early 1900s, and the 176,000 who fled in the wake of the 1956 uprising and its brutal suppression by Soviet tanks.
“The trend is everywhere. There isn’t a family that hasn’t been touched,” said Endre Sik, an analyst with social research institute Tarki.
Most worrying for the authorities is that half of those leaving are under 30, according to the institute. Hungary is losing its best and brightest young minds to the rest of Europe.
– ‘Come home’ –
With Hungarians expected at the polls on April 6 to elect a new government, both the incumbent conservative Fidesz party — which is widely expected to win another term — and the centre-left opposition are hoping to win over these disillusioned voters.
One opposition leader, former prime minister Gordon Bajnai, has called for the state to guarantee a job to all youngsters under 30 who have been unemployed for six months or more.
Targeted subsidies to all entrepreneurs under 35 who choose to remain in Hungary are also in the works.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party set up a body in 2011 called “Come Home”, where families looking to return to Hungary can find all the legal and administrative information they need, including tips on how to write a resume or perform well in a job interview.
But for analyst Endre Sik, the solution to the exodus lies elsewhere.
“The only way to get Hungarians to come back is to put Hungary’s economy back on the path to strong and sustainable growth and at the same time to create a pleasant political climate,” he said.
“These two factors are indispensable.”
Since winning a landslide victory in 2010, Orban’s government has faced mounting criticism for its autocratic policies.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned last month that the economy, although out of recession, was being held back by limited investment and too much government intervention.
For those Hungarians living abroad, casting a ballot ahead of April 6 will be a slow and difficult process and some may just stay away from the polling station altogether.
“We don’t want to vote — we don’t see any decent options,” said London-based Eszenyi Karola who insists she has come to Britain to stay.
“We don’t even want to go back to Hungary. We’re here to make a new life for ourselves.”
When he came to power, Orban promised to solve Hungary’s unemployment problem by creating one million new jobs.
Now a popular joke goes: “Orban promised one million new jobs in 2010. Well he did create half of that… he just never said they would be in Hungary.”
