A leading anti-liberal economist calls for active public involvement in the economy, instead of restrictions “demanded by the IMF and the EU”. She claims that no growth is possible without government intervention. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum assess the speeches of PM Orbán and former PM Bajnai in the light of the 2014 election. Both left and right-wing columnists wonder if Bajnai can succeed in uniting moderates, socialists, greens and liberals dissatisfied with the Orbán government. READ MORE
Editorials published on Monday to mark the anniversary of the 1956 revolution (the dailies are not published on national holidays) reflect the papers’ political affiliations. READ MORE
The leading right-wing daily claims that the new austerity measures are the result of “IMF blackmail,” while its counterpart on the left suggests that either Matolcsy has difficulties with numbers or he lied when he announced his first package. READ MORE
The most important left and right wing dailies identify the message of the Norwegian decision as a clear warning that the values of a United Europe should be preserved. READ MORE
Following the Hungarian Prime Minister’s talks with Angela Merkel, a pro-government daily warns against harsh condemnation of Germany in the right-wing media, as Berlin is an ally and “closer than we think.” In a short editorial Népszabadság suggests that in order to measure the results of Orbán’s visit we will have to count Hungary’s share of the EU’s cohesion and structural funds. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist argues that with former Prime Minister Bajnai on the stage, anti-government demonstrators may draw the crowds, but pure hatred does not equal a political alternative. A left-of-centre journalist celebrates an occasion on which anti-Fidesz forces start to coalesce around a single candidate. READ MORE
The editorial of a pro-government daily describes the package as a necessity under the constraints of the global economic crisis, while a centrist economist dismisses it as yet another unrealistic plan.
In an unusually swift procedure, Parliament banned slot machines with immediate effect, except for those in casinos. Commentators both on the right and the left agree that it was the right decision, although the price is high: the loss of tens of billions in gambling revenues and tens of thousands of jobs. READ MORE
A right-wing commentator finds it strange that while the European Court rejected Hungary’s complaint against the Slovak refusal three years ago to let President László Sólyom attend a ceremony on Slovak territory, the European Commission and Parliament do not feel competent in the case of the post war Beneš decrees, which declared Hungarians collectively guilty. READ MORE