Left-wing commentators accuse the government of courting anti-Semitic voters and PM Orbán of reneging on his earlier promises, as the building of the controversial Second World War memorial in Budapest resumes. A conservative pundit suspects “external forces” of trying to blame the persecution of Hungarian Jews on ordinary Hungarians rather than on the Nazi invaders. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum agree that the left has been shattered and will need to completely reinvent itself after another huge defeat. Conservative columnists maintain that the overwhelming support legitimizes all the reforms and policies introduced by the Orbán government in the past four years. READ MORE
One day before the elections political dailies publish passionate battle cries, pinpointing enemies which readers should not vote for under any circumstances, barring an unavoidable national tragedy. Sunday’s general election is the first in Hungary without a 48 hour a ban on campaign messages. Weeklies that mostly appear on Wednesday and Thursday took a more analytical attitude, but also made a final effort to mobilize voters. READ MORE
Left-wing commentators still hope that a crushing Fidesz victory can be prevented. In that case, they suggest, any complaints from the Left about the new election rules will seem more credible. Their right-wing counterparts meanwhile are pulling out all the stops to mobilise their readers for one last push. They argue that the latest scandals have stripped the Left of its last shreds of credibility. READ MORE
Népszabadság and ATV propose a series of televised debates, including a duel between PM Viktor Orbán and Socialist Party leader Attila Mesterházy during the last week of the campaign. Right-wing pundits dismiss the idea that such pre-electoral debates are a must in any democracy. READ MORE
A conservative columnist suggests that radical right-wing irredentist Hungarians who want to restore Greater Hungary are undermining pro-autonomy movements in Transylvania. READ MORE
A pro-government daily accuses left-liberals of overlooking ultranationalist threats to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine and blindly supporting the power games of oligarchs. A liberal commentator who lives in Ukraine says Hungarians there want to stay out of the conflict because they have nothing to gain from it. READ MORE
As former PM Gyurcsány denies having leaked his famous “lie-speech”, left-wing columnists suggest that the publication of the tapes and even the riots which followed could have been orchestrated by Fidesz politicians. Pro-government commentators, on the other hand, contend that Gyurcsány’s involvement in the leak is beyond doubt. READ MORE
Correspondents on the sport tend to get carried away by the revolt in the Ukraine, but analysts in Hungary are worried about potential negative conseuqences as to the plight of the Hungarian ethnic minority there. READ MORE
Commentators agree on the importance of broadening business ties with China, but left-wing analysts criticise the political overtones of the Prime Minister’s visit to Beijing. READ MORE