The paper analyses young people’s interpretation of the past, evaluation of the present and po-litical behaviour patterns based on semi-structured interviews (n=60) conducted in two contra-sting constellations of modernization, Sopron and Ózd. First the perception of the most pressing social and political problems, second the potential of political and civic actions are compared. Finally an attempt is made to outline a ‚hopeless’ and an ‚indifferent’ idealtype of political cultu-re. Together they create the opportunity for both the birth of antidemocratic tendencies and the space in which they can evolve. In this sense they provide the preconditions for ‚mainstreaming the extreme’ that is the incubation of radicalism in Hungary.