Rival views on the EU

A left-wing and a conservative commentator offer diametrically opposing takes on the performance of the EU during the coronavirus epidemic. READ MORE

Parliament passes coronavirus emergency bill

As parliament extends the validity of the special powers conferred on the government until the end of the virus emergency, a left-wing analyst approves the opposition’s strategy to refuse to cooperate with the government on the government’s terms. A pro-government columnist rejects accusations that the government wants to introduce a dictatorship. READ MORE

Restrictions on movement to fight the virus pandemic

As the government announces a partial curfew in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, commentators ponder the implications for the pandemic and the lives of ordinary Hungarians. READ MORE

Automotive industry closing plants

As all big automobile produces have suspended production in Hungary, the CEO off an important subcontractor of many of them warns that the coronavirus epidemic puts Hungary’s automotive industry in dire danger. READ MORE

Government accused of plotting against opposition media

A left-wing commentator thinks that the new ‘fake news bill’ will add to the troubles of the non-government-sponsored media. A right-wing author argues that the bill simply meets the requirements of a nationwide health emergency. READ MORE

President Áder criticised for staying silent

A left-liberal author finds it incomprehensible that the President of the Republic has not yet deemed it necessary to address the nation in the midst of the unprecedented virus emergency. READ MORE

Opposition refuses accelerated vote on emergency extension

Opposition refuses accelerated vote on emergency extension

A pro-government columnist accuses the opposition of using Monday’s parliamentary session to smear the Prime Minister, while a critic of the government deems the attitude of the parliamentary majority recklessly uncompromising. An independent analyst warns against political hysteria on both sides. READ MORE

Government seeks to extend special decrees indefinitely

A liberal columnist accuses the government of introducing a dictatorship under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic, and urges the opposition to vote against the bill conferring special powers on the government. A pro-government analyst suspects that the opposition intends to foil efforts to contain the epidemic in order to prove that the government is incompetent. READ MORE

Weeklies on the coronavirus epidemic

The weeklies went to print before the Prime Minister’s announcement on Friday evening of a heightened state of emergency and the closure of all schools. All commentators write gravely about the virus, although not without political overtones. READ MORE

Political camps trade accusations of weaponising the virus epidemic

As the number of those infected rises steadily, with 19 confirmed cases in Hungary, commentators on both sides of the political frontline accuse the other of exploiting the pandemic for their own purposes. READ MORE