Népszava criticises government handling of pandemic

In an unusual flurry of comments condemning the government’s pandemic management, the left-wing nationwide daily carries five separate opinion columns on this subject on Thursday.

Theatre and Film University conflict rolls on

Reacting to a several thousand strong demonstration organised  by students of the university on Sunday, and to their already week-long occupation of their school, opposition-leaning commentators see their protest as harbinger of a new era, while pro-government authors believe they are manipulated by left-liberal intellectuals trying to protect their leading ...

Debate over University of Theatre and Film rages on

Left-wing and liberal authors accuse the government of dictatorial ambitions, after it appointed a pro-government board to run the Budapest University of Theatre and Film. A pro-government writer sees what is happening as part of a reasonable reform of higher education.

Ruminations on the US riots

A pro-government analyst fears that the weakening of the US will harm European interests. A left-wing columnist dismisses the argument that the riots in the US are the result of systemic racism.

Dispute over child pornography laws

A left-wing commentator cautions the Left against following its moral sentiments and demanding harsher punishment for pedophiles. A pro-government columnist accuses the Left of hypocrisy.

Migration as a threat to social stability

A pro-government commentator and another at Hungary’s top left-wing daily both suggest that ‘uncontrolled mass migration’ undermines social peace.

National Consultation Number 9

A liberal sociologist slams the government’s latest national consultation questionnaire as a mere propaganda tool, while a pro-government analyst sees it as a smart exercise in democracy.

Weeklies’ New Year editorials

In their first issues of 2020, the weeklies try to make sense of what happened in 2019 and assess what Hungary may expect in the New Year.

Hóman remembered for both his merits and his sins

A pro-government writer admits that monuments to historic heroes should only be erected after a thorough public debate on their merits and faults.

Conservative poet calls for cultural renewal

A pro-government poet blames the drop in sales of books of literature on what he calls the elitism which dominates the literary field, and proposes that the national interest should be the priority in literature too.