Commentators wonder whether the mass meeting held under the slogan “We don’t like the system” will give birth to a new left wing opposition, or if it was a one-off event. READ MORE
A columnist in Népszabadság believes that the split in the Socialist Party will not take the country forward. A publicist in the pro-government Magyar Hírlap suggests former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány received a major blow from his former party chairman as he set up his new party. READ MORE
People have no choice but to demonstrate against the authoritarian practices of the present government, Népszabadság believes, while Magyar Nemzet discovered politicians who supported the Gyurcsány government in the crowd at last weekend’s demonstration organised on Facebook. READ MORE
Left and right both accuse each other of appropriating and falsifying the message of the 1956 revolution. Right-wing pundits call for historical justice, while left-wing commentators think the government is abusing the anniversary to vilify the opposition. READ MORE
Hungary’s national dailies offer diametrically opposed interpretations of Tuesday’s meeting between PM Viktor Orbán and US ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. Left wing newspapers believe the Hungarian government was severely criticised for what they term its undemocratic tendencies, while pro-government commentators suggest that no words of censure were uttered. READ MORE
Hungary will have to either side with France and Germany and opt for tightening cooperation between EU countries, or follow Great Britain in trying to broaden national competences within the Union, a left wing columnist suggests. READ MORE
The major left wing daily compares Ferenc Gyurcsány’s position to the Palikot Movement in Poland, while a right wing publicist believes that the former PM will end up disintegrating the Socialist Party. READ MORE
Left wing columnists are united in condemning a decision by the mayor of Budapest to appoint actor György Dörner as head of Új Színház (New Theater). They focus on what they regard as the low professional level of Mr Dörner’s application, and his political support of the extreme right. A popular right wing journalist counters that the attack is due to Mr Dörner’s political beliefs rather than his professional standard. READ MORE
Pundits across the political spectrum have recently been preoccupied with the question whether a broad coalition on the left could successfully replace Fidesz at the next election. Left-wing commentators warn that electoral success alone would not amount to victory, since a too broad anti-Orbán alliance without a clear vision would not be able govern the country. READ MORE
Twenty years after the regime change, Hungarians still do not care much for public property. A left-wing columnist blames the lack of public concern for public goods on the still prevailing heritage of “state socialism”. READ MORE