The latest left-right controversy has been sparked by an initiative of the Parliamentary majority to find ways to sue those politicians responsible for Hungary’s deep indebtedness. Left wing commentators believe that political mistakes cannot be criminalised in a democracy. READ MORE
Commentators on both sides of the political battlefield believe equally that Hungary must learn its lesson from what happened in Oslo on July 22. But they differ on what that lesson should be. READ MORE
A radical right-wing organization has announced that it will stage a protest in the middle of the Sziget (Island) Rock Festival in Budapest in early August. Commentators across the political spectrum find the plan outrageous, while human rights activists defend the right of racist and nationalist groups to protest. READ MORE
PM Viktor Orbán suggests that Hungary should focus less on the declining West, where sovereign debts have become unmanageable, and concentrate instead on introducing a labour-based economic model, whilst strengthening ties with Central European countries. Pundits ponder the possible implications of the PM’s new vision. READ MORE
Magyar Hírlap finds the decision of a US court to allow descendants of Holocaust victims to sue Hungarian State Railways for the plunder of Jewish possessions during World War II outrageous. The right wing commentator thinks that trials of this kind can only play into the hands of anti-Semites. READ MORE
In the first right-wing press reaction to the latest job cuts in public-service media, the editor-in-chief of Magyar Hírlap warns left-wing critics that each time their own friends took over the reins of power for the past 17 years, an ideologically-motivated media purge followed. READ MORE
A spy scandal replete with allegations of wrongdoing against two former heads of Hungary’s counter-espionage service, as well as a former Socialist cabinet minister responsible for supervising the secret services, has provoked conflicting commentaries in the press. All the more so, as the details have been classified as state secrets for the next 78 years. READ MORE
Striking differences were apparent in the press coverage of the visits of two US Secretaries of State to Budapest. Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice came to unveil the monument to Ronald Reagan, while her successor, Hillary Clinton spoke at the opening ceremony of the Tom Lantos Institute. READ MORE
Few question the advantages of the bilateral agreements signed by PM Viktor Orbán and his counterpart Wen Jiabao on June 25 in Budapest, especially in the mainstream press. Many popular bloggers, however, even on the right of the political spectrum, argue that the government went too far in its courtesy towards the Asian giant. READ MORE
The latest data suggest that the Hungarian population is continuing to decline. According to a right-wing daily, the recent changes in the welfare system may have contributed to this sad trend. A left-wing journalist notes that only in-depth surveys would uncover the real causes – one should not automatically blame the current government. READ MORE