Entries RSS Feed Share Send to Facebook Tweet This Accessible version

Weeklies on the Russian-Hungarian nuclear pact


The headlines in Hungarian weeklies illustrate a growing controversy over the planned addition of two Russian-made blocks to the existing Paks nuclear power station: “The scandal of the year” (168 óra); “Eastern Block” (Heti Világgazdaság); “The business of the year?” (Figyelő); “Hungary hooked by Putin” (Magyar Narancs); “Change of Roles in Kissidonia” (Demokrata); “Paks Vobiscum” (“Paks be with you”; Heti Válasz). READ MORE

Tags: , ,

Forint hits ten months record low


A business weekly thinks that aside from the latest interest rate cut by the Hungarian National Bank, the Forint has lost ground over the past weeks because investors have grown increasingly cautious about emerging markets. READ MORE

Tags: ,

Marx’s statue – another battle in the war of monuments


Left-wing pundits welcome the decision of Corvinus University to keep Karl Marx’s statue on its premises, rejecting a claim that the figure of the “intellectual father” of Communism should not be exhibited in the University’s main hall and serve as a daily meeting point for young people. READ MORE

Tags: ,

Culture wars over Holocaust anniversary


A left-wing commentator welcomes a statement by the leaders of the Jewish religious communities who are threatening to withdraw from the state commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust, unless the government changes its approach to history and stops implicitly whitewashing Hungarian wartime collaborators. A pro-government columnist accuses critics of denying Hungary’s occupation by Nazi Germany.
READ MORE

Tags: ,

Anti-Semitism declining but still at average European level


A Jewish website reports that anti-Semitism in Hungary has declined since 2010, but is still above the level measured eight years ago. Explaining why “many people have the impression that anti-Semitism is on the rise”, the sociologist who conducted the latest survey on the subject suggests that hard-core anti-Semites may feel encouraged by the presence of a far right party in Parliament and may behave more aggressively than earlier. READ MORE

Tags:

President Áder announces election date


The date of the election itself has become a campaign topic, with left-wing commentators suspecting that the President’s decision was prompted by political convenience rather than neutral rationality.  READ MORE

Tags: , ,

Right-wing columnist criticizes prospective US ambassador


A conservative columnist known for his frequently critical remarks on US foreign policy accuses the prospective US ambassador to Budapest of infringing upon Hungarian sovereignty with her critical sentences about the state of democratic checks and balances in Hungary. READ MORE

Tags: , , ,

Democracy devours its middle class


A sociologist believes that populism is on the rise in East Central Europe. In Hungary, he argues, the middle class was weakened during the years of transition to the market economy, and is therefore defenceless against the rising tide of anti-market populism. READ MORE

Tags: , ,

Ócsa FX debtors relief housing scheme rebranded


Népszabadság thinks the government should have known that the Ócsa project was doomed to failure from the very start and should not have taken the hasty decision of building a large compound in the middle of nowhere. READ MORE

Tags: ,

Prospects for the new opposition coalition


Left-wing pundits maintain that the new alliance is the only possible hope to challenge PM Orbán, albeit a rather slender one. Pro-government columnists consider the deal as proof that the left lacks ideas. READ MORE

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »