On the left, Viktor Orbán’s annual Sunday speech is described as “success propaganda” and scaremongering, while pro-government commentators condemn Ferenc Gyurcsány’s Saturday speech as “scandalous” from the man they hold responsible for his country’s demise. READ MORE
The number one business daily condemns the Hungarian branch of an international initiative which has proposed a guaranteed and unconditional “basic income” for all European citizens as ”campaign-flavoured”. READ MORE
Is Jobbik a post-fascist movement or a fringe protest party? Does it pursue a racist and neo-Nazi ideology? How radical is its agenda? Is it comparable to far-right populist parties in Western Europe? In VS, a new centrist online media outlet, popular intellectuals and pundits discuss Jobbik’s ideology and its electoral prospects in a comparative perspective. READ MORE
A right-wing columnist lambasts a video clip on censorship by the organization Reporters Without Borders, and suggests that despite all the controversies around media freedom in Hungary, it is ridiculous to liken PM Orbán to authoritarian dictators. READ MORE
Left and liberal commentators poke fun at a children’s charity for turning away a porn-star-turned singer, arguing that Tünde Krasznai started her life as an underprivileged child and if Pope Francis invites former prostitutes to meet him, why should self-proclaimed Hungarian Christians be less charitable? READ MORE
Pro-government commentators accuse former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s DK party of being ready to cooperate with far right organizations to beat Fidesz. Some liberal commentators agree that the DK’s anti-Orbán rhetoric may have strange side-effects, others point out that local DK leaders acted without the knowledge of the centre and were kicked out of the party immediately. READ MORE
Various commentators – including even some who otherwise deem the government’s performance appalling – believe that the opposition hardly stands a chance at the elections scheduled for next spring. READ MORE
While Hungary has had a fairly bad press abroad for political reasons over the past years, Budapest has gradually gained a positive international image as a friendly and welcoming city. READ MORE
Columnists disagree on a decision by the Equal Treatment Authority, according to which free entry to night clubs offered for women only is discriminatory and thus should be banned. READ MORE
A left-wing daily believes the new Roma party will eat into the constituency of the opposition, while a Roma politician maintains in a pro-government weekly that the Roma should change themselves, to change their plight. READ MORE