A pro-government commentator calls on the European Union to embrace Christian values, namely respect for the equality of human communities, including all nations, and the redistribution of wealth to the poor. READ MORE
Tags: Christianity, Europe
In their analyses on the causes of the defeat of the Left at the elections on 6th April, commentators across the political spectrum believe that there will be no left-wing alternative to the incumbent government until the far reaching lessons of two consecutive electoral catastrophes are learned. Opinions differ, however about what those lessons are. READ MORE
Tags: elections, European Parliament, Fidesz, Gyurcsány, Jobbik, Mesterházy, MSZP, Orbán
A pro-government columnist thinks the Left hasn’t learned the lesson of the elections and sticks to the radical language which, he suggests, caused its crushing defeat on April 6th. He predicts that these tactics will further weaken the left-wing opposition. READ MORE
Tags: Bajnai, Gyurcsány, Jobbik, Mesterházy, Orbán
Representatives of a prominent Jewish foundation condemn the decision by the Union of Jewish Religious Communities (Mazsihisz) to boycott state ceremonies held during the Holocaust remembrance year. They call that decision a serious error of judgement which has already resulted in strengthening anti-Semitism. READ MORE
Tags: anti-Semitism, Holocaust
An economist warns that Jobbik is the only political party that has managed to raise the real problems most poor people face in their day to day lives, although it has not offered any viable solutions. The government is trying to get rid of a flawed model of economic development, he believes, but the Left mistakenly interprets that effort as a drive to restore Communism. READ MORE
A fiery liberal pundit alleges that Viktor Orbán owes his two thirds majority to Hungary’s Green Party. Zsófia Mihancsik scorns a young analyst who claimed that voting LMP would help prevent the government’s two thirds majority. The analyst replies that “the old dear doesn’t understand the first thing about voters’ minds if she thinks they can be commandeered to vote for any party.” READ MORE
Tags: elections, LMP, Orbán, two-thirds
The count of votes sent by mail from around the world confirmed on Saturday that the Fidesz-KDNP alliance will retain its two thirds majority in Parliament. A left-wing analysis takes it for granted that the Prime Minister will not refrain from making full use of his overwhelming power in the new National Assembly, while a right-wing analyst suggests that the victors should show moderation. READ MORE
Tags: elections, Electoral Law, two-thirds
Commentators wonder whether or not the next Orbán government will strike a more conciliatory tone, and seek compromises in the economy and in symbolic battles at home and on the European scene. READ MORE
Tags: budget, culture wars, economy, elections, EU, growth, Holocaust, Jobbik, Orbán
Left-wing commentators accuse the government of courting anti-Semitic voters and PM Orbán of reneging on his earlier promises, as the building of the controversial Second World War memorial in Budapest resumes. A conservative pundit suspects “external forces” of trying to blame the persecution of Hungarian Jews on ordinary Hungarians rather than on the Nazi invaders. READ MORE
Tags: culture wars
Left-liberal intellectuals blame the “servant mentality” of the public for the failure of the left-wing alliance parties. They suggest that Hungarians prefer the individual pursuit of self-interest to collective action against those who exploit them. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, believes that left-wing intellectuals despise ordinary Hungarians. READ MORE