A pro-government columnist pondering the latest opinion poll on public trust contends that the Orbán government has restored some of the authority democratic institutions lost under past left-wing governments. Another conservative pundit accuses the left of alarmism which strengthens negative attitudes in the country. READ MORE
As the Hungarian state run energy company reaches agreement with Gazprom on plans for the South Stream pipeline, a leading left-wing daily contends that, in the dispute over the pipeline, PM Orbán has to find a delicate balance between Russia and the EU. READ MORE
In an article to mark the twentieth anniversary of PM József Antall’s death, a left-wing pundit contends that the current right-wing parties have betrayed Antall’s conservative liberal vision. Another former ally of PM Antall, on the other hand, believes that the main goal set by the first democratically elected Prime Minister is being fulfilled by the Orbán government. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist finds unfounded the allegations of a former Tax Authority officer who claimed that he had uncovered large scale fraud assisted by the Agency. She criticizes the government, however, for not being more cooperative in investigating the allegations. READ MORE
The leading left-wing daily contends that faster growth has little to do with the government’s unconventional economic policies. A conservative columnist, on the other hand, believes that the Orbán government has managed to put the Hungarian economy back on the right track. READ MORE
Left-wing columnists accuse the government of weakening solidarity and sweeping problems under the carpet, as the Budapest Assembly passed a decree banning people from living on the street in certain areas. Conservative commentators contend that there are enough places in shelters for the homeless, thus the Fidesz-led council is right to ban anti-social homeless people from specific busy downtown areas. READ MORE
Commentators on both the left and the right wonder if the MSZP intends to re-open negotiations with the Democratic Coalition after a Socialist luminary said that former PM Gyurcsány’s party cannot be left out of an anti-Orbán electoral coalition. READ MORE
A conservative economist contends that forex mortgages endanger European financial stability and calls for EU action to ease the burden on debtors. READ MORE
As the inflation rate slows to a 39 year low, a left-wing commentator warns of the dangers of prices kept artificially low. A conservative columnist, on the other hand, believes that price stability and the increase in disposable incomes adds up to good news for the economy. READ MORE
Addressing both liberal and conservative critics of last week’s Horthy commemoration, Gáspár Miklós Tamás, a well-known leftist philosopher ridicules those who confine their criticism of the interwar era to anti-Semitism alone. READ MORE