Left-wing dailies report that the Government has made a deal with the German owners of Hungary’s increasingly critical No. 1 commercial TV station and thus removed a thorn from German-Hungarian relations a few days before Chancellor Merkel’s visit to Budapest. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum try to assess the long-term consequences of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Among other issues, they dispute whether free speech can or should ever be constrained in order to protect religious sensibilities and avert fundamentalist violence. READ MORE
Left-wing bloggers wonder if the demonstrations continuing into the New Year carry messages meaningful enough to eventually produce a new political majority, while conservative commentators suggest that the organisers have yet to offer constructive proposals for Hungary, beyond the desire to rid the country of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. READ MORE
Left-wing analysts comment on the latest opinion polls, and speculate that the governing party’s decline cannot be stopped. Liberal and moderate centrist commentators believe that any suggestion that the government’s fall is inevitable is mere wishful thinking. Conservative columnists call for more caution and sensitivity in the practice of government. READ MORE
As the US bans a number of unnamed Hungarian state officials and businessmen from entering the US, left-wing and liberal columnists contend that the US wants to teach what they call the corrupt and increasingly pro-Russian Orbán government a lesson. Conservative pundits believe that the US wants to set an example and send the message that it does not tolerate any deviation from its foreign policy line or any violation of its financial interests. READ MORE
One week before the municipal elections, commentators see critical signs on both sides of the dividing line between mainstream parties. But they disagree on the nature of the political model being shaped by a majority which is increasingly left without a powerful opposition. READ MORE
Commentators from right across the political spectrum agree that the Left is in complete disarray and chaos, as the left-wing Budapest mayoral candidate resigns and left-wing parties fail to reach an agreement on whether they should back a conservative candidate instead of Falus in the October 12 local election. READ MORE
A left-liberal webmagazine expects a real clash within the Fidesz camp after the municipal elections in October, while a pro-government commentator suggests that “a new era will begin” on both sides. READ MORE
The Left considers the post insignificant and an expression of dissatisfaction with the Hungarian government, while the Right thinks the portfolio is of strategic importance. READ MORE
The stepdaughter of a former Socialist Prime Minister lambasts journalists for “ruining a young man’s dream”, as the media buzzes with comments on the younger Orbán’s presence at his father’s side in the VIP box of the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, watching the World Cup final. READ MORE