A prominent aide to former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány finds it strange that both candidates running for the top post of the Socialist Party were State Secretaries under Gyurcsány, yet are using anti-Gyurcsány rhetoric in their campaign. READ MORE
Commentators from across the political spectrum are upset by the opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court who has suggested that Slovakia did not violate EU law by banning László Sólyom, the President of Hungary from entering Slovakia in 2009. READ MORE
Liberal and conservative pundits wonder if the anti-government NGOs and the opposition parties have a program which could constitute a real alternative to the Orbán government. The commentators suggest the anti-government groups have no clear ideas about what they want to do after ousting Orbán. If successful, such politics would only perpetuate populist rhetoric, they argue. READ MORE
A serious furore has erupted over the Media Council’s decision to award the frequency used by a left wing talk radio to another media company. A right wing analyst calls the decision an “especially bad one” as it has relaunched last year’s controversy over Hungary’s media law. READ MORE
Right-wing commentators attribute the downgrade of Hungary’s sovereign debt by Standard and Poor’s to the deepening crisis of the Eurozone. According to left-wing pundits it just reflects the failure of the Orbán government’s unorthodox economic strategy. A moderate conservative observer cautions against an overly independent policy line. READ MORE
An agreement with the IMF would not curtail Hungary’s sovereignty, even if it would somewhat limit the economic options available to the government, a liberal commentator suggests. READ MORE
Pundits from both the left and the right acknowledge that it is reasonable to reinstate the registration of Hungarian men of military age. A left-wing commentator, however, worries that the sensitive personal data collected by the government may be misused. READ MORE
A leading conservative analyst finds the minister’s decision reasonable – evidence of what he believes is the government’s commitment to reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator believes that the government wants to stigmatize the Socialists by establishing in law that the Socialist Party (MSZP, the successor of the Communist MSZMP), shares responsibility for the crimes of the pre-1989 regime. A right-wing observer, however, welcomes the proposal and suggests that victims of the Communist era should be compensated. READ MORE
A pro-government commentator does not understand why left-wing newspapers which criticise the public service media are getting expensive advertisements from the Media Council, while cultural institutions are short of money. READ MORE