* Fidesz lead over main opposition Socialists 64 to 16
* Socialists, far right stuck in weak positions
* Tough stance against IMF resonates with voters - pollster
(Adds pollster quotes, detail, background) By Marton Dunai
BUDAPEST, July 26 (Reuters) - Support for Hungary's ruling centre-right Fidesz party has slipped since it took power in May and ended aid talks with the IMF but it still maintained its position as the country's strongest party by far.
The strong support indicates that while Fidesz has picked fights with international lenders and its political rivals, voters approve of its tough stance, the director of Szazadveg Institute, which conducted the poll, said.
"People are much more supportive of a decisive government than of the alternatives offered by either the Socialists or the far right," Andras Giro-Szasz told Reuters.
"The government managed to capitalise on every measure it took, in national as well as financial policy. The opposition parties are fighting for second place, with no real message."
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet has stoked market worries as it refused to accept demands from its international lenders to lower a big tax on financial institutions this year or to abandon plans to cut salaries at the central bank.
The lenders, which bailed Hungary out with a $25.1 billion emergency loan in 2008, left without concluding a regular review earlier this month, sending Hungary's assets tumbling. [ID:nLDE66I054]
The country's forint
Moody's and S&P both warned on Friday they might downgrade Hungary's debt citing the IMF snub. [ID:nLDE66M0U9]
Szazadveg said on Monday that voters continued to back Fidesz, which had the support of 64 percent of decided voters, down slightly from 70 percent in the last poll, which was conducted in June by the Tarki institute.
Support for the main opposition Socialists was 16 percent in Szazadveg's poll, up from 13 percent of decided voters measured by Tarki in June.
Among all voters, Fidesz held onto its 46 percent support, while the Socialists had the backing of 12 percent of voters, up from 10 percent in June.
The far-right Jobbik party, which analysts say makes Fidesz more confrontational on policy, scored 10 percent among decided voters and 8 percent among all voters, in line with Tarki's earlier poll. [ID:nLDE66K18Y]
The Szazadveg poll was published on Monday on the www.szazadveg.hu web site.
(Reporting by Marton Dunai; editing by David Stamp)