Left and liberal papers question the wisdom of the prison sentence handed down to Béla Biszku, a former high ranking communist, for war crimes committed after the 1956 revolution. They echo the arguments of the defence that the trial was politically motivated. READ MORE
Tags: 1956, War crimes
Baffled right-wing commentators find the transvestite winner hard to accept. One claims that Eurovision attracts gay audiences, another calls the outcome of the vote an aberration. Their left-wing counterpart thinks Austria may benefit from the Conchita Wurst case. READ MORE
A pro-government commentator suggests that Mr Orbán wants to serve the country as a whole, but the opposition will make national reconciliation impossible. A left-wing daily reads the speech as proof that the Prime Minister will continue to define people of different political views as enemies. A liberal paper thinks that the Prime Minister’s words about national unity hide an intent to suppress liberal and left-wing opinion and initiatives. READ MORE
Tags: Orbán, Parliament, two-thirds
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech in Berlin and his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, a left-wing columnist believes that Mr Orbán’s vision is too conservative even for German Christian Democrats. Right-wing commentators, on the other hand, contend that the German government regards Hungary as an important and reliable economic and geopolitical ally. READ MORE
Tags: energy, EU, European Parliament, foreign affairs, Germany, Orbán, Ukraine
A centrist political analyst believes that the European Parliamentary election is important primarily for the opposition parties. READ MORE
Tags: Democratic Coalition, elections, European Parliament, Fidesz, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Together 2014
Right and left-wing commentators agree that there should be zero tolerance for far-right radicalism. They accuse Jobbik of fomenting hatred, after far-right protesters physically attacked a prominent Hungarian politician from Vojvodina. READ MORE
Tags: far-right, Jobbik, transborder politics, violence
As the new Parliament meets for the first time after the April election, commentators wonder if the years ahead might bring reconciliation between left and right. READ MORE
Tags: elections, far-right, Jobbik, Parliament
A conservative commentator criticizes Jobbik’s anti-EU rhetoric by pointing out that Hungary has received thousands of billion Forints in EU cohesion funds. A liberal pundit scorns left and far-right parties which demand western European wages for Hungarians. READ MORE
Tags: Democratic Coalition, elections, EU, Jobbik, LMP, Together 2014
Political commentators fear the return of 20th century power struggles and the Cold War, as Ukraine drifts towards the abyss. READ MORE
Most commentators agree that Hungary has made relatively little progress since it joined the European Union ten years ago, despite a net financial transfer amounting to about 1.5 per cent of its GDP. Opinions diverge however on the reasons as well as on the direction European integration should follow. READ MORE
Tags: EU, Martonyi, Navracsics, Orbán