Left-wing weeklies sharply dismiss the government initiative to hold a referendum on the sexual education of children as a pointless act of propaganda. A right-wing commentator only agrees with them on one point – namely that the plan should be read in the context of mutual efforts to mobilise supporters ahead of next year’s parliamentary election. READ MORE
Liberal and left-wing weeklies take it for granted that the government used counter-terrorism spyware to monitor its critics. READ MORE
The weeklies are sharply divided on the issues which pit the Hungarian government against the European Commission, but all consider these controversies serious and lasting. READ MORE
Opposition-leaning weeklies ponder whether the row between most European governments and Hungary’s leaders over sexual education might ultimately lead to Hungary leaving the European Union, while pro-government outlets praise the Hungarian government for defending traditional values.
Commentators right across the political spectrum interpret the Hungarian team’s unexpected success and tragic exit from the European Football Championship as a political allegory. READ MORE
None of the print weeklies support the practice of kneeling down on the pitch in sign of protest against racism nor do any of them approve of Hungarian fans who booed the Irish side when they were taking the knee before a preparatory match for the European championship. On the other hand, they strongly disagree on whether such gestures should be banned from sports events. READ MORE
A left-liberal weekly accuses Prime Minister Orbán of waging a war against gender equality. A conservative commentator, on the other hand, accuses liberal feminists of waging an ideological fight against traditional family values in the name of gender equality, while tolerating the exploitation of women. READ MORE
Commentators from across the political spectrum consider that while Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony could be the strongest candidate for the opposition in the 2022 parliamentary election, he might be defeated by the Democratic Coalition’s Klára Dovrev in the primary election this autumn. READ MORE
Opinions diverge sharply on the plan to open a Chinese university campus in Budapest in 2024. This will be the first campus the Shanghai-based Fudan University opens abroad. The Hungarian government plans to fund the project from Chinese loans. READ MORE
As the third wave of the pandemic sweeps through Hungary, commentators from across the political divide discuss the government’s strategy and speculate on the possible date of the end of the emergency. READ MORE