Columnists from across the political spectrum criticise a Socialist MP for likening the Orbán government’s new policies on the disabled to the practices of Josef Mengele, the ill-famed Nazi doctor who stood at the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp choosing which of the deportees were fit for slave labour and which should be sent to the gas chambers as “unfit”. READ MORE
In a comment on the decision of the Media Authority to disqualify Klubrádió from a frequency tender for formal mistakes in its bid, the leading left-wing daily contends that the Orbán government wants to silence all its critics. Pro-government papers strictly report the facts of the ruling, and refrain from commenting on the affair. READ MORE
Commentators in right wing dailies welcome the news that the IMF has accepted the amended National Bank Act and will now resume negotiations. Left of centre dailies criticise the delays, the prevarications and fear that the government might at any time decide to turn back and play the ”Turkish card” again. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator finds the court’s verdict proof of anti-Roma discrimination in the judiciary, while a prominent right wing columnist dismisses human right activists’ concern as another vicious attack against ethnic Hungarians. The ruling is under appeal. READ MORE
Commenting on an exchange of letters between US congressmen and Viktor Orbán on anti-Semitism in Hungary, a pro-government columnist says Fidesz is a victim of anti-Semitic attacks, and is fighting anti-Semitism. The commentator in the largest left wing daily , however, says that if the government really wanted to block anti-Semitic content, it should turn to Internet Service Providers, instead of asking US congressmen to act. READ MORE
Népszabadság believes the government’s innovative extension of voting rights to Hungarian citizens living in neighbouring countries may backfire READ MORE
Right and left accuse each other of acting in bad faith in connection with the government-sponsored, but failed reburial of Transylvanian writer József Nyírő. A liberal analyst believes both sides need enemies in order to mobilise their own troops. READ MORE
Observers draw gloomy conclusions from the arrest and attempted suicide of the former left-wing Romanian prime minister. READ MORE
Commentators agree that the new criminal code is more punitive than the previous one, but opinions differ as to how useful the changes are. READ MORE
Left-wing newspapers fear that a ban envisaged on Communist style street names could lead to a ban on their own titles. A centrist conservative blogger sees the bill submitted by right-wing MPs as a new step in the war over historical symbols. READ MORE