Wiesel returns Hungarian award

A right-wing columnist downplays the importance of Elie Wiesel’s decision to return the highest Hungarian state honour in protest against what he sees as the government’s efforts to restore anti-Semitic icons. A left-wing pundit, on the other hand, believes that the case will receive international attention and further harm the image of the Orbán government. A centrist commentator notes that the previous socialist-liberal coalitions did much less against anti-Semitism than the current Fidesz government. READ MORE

Tags: anti-Semitism, Arrow-Cross, Fidesz, Horthy, Nyírő, US

No reason to celebrate Greek election results

Commentators on both the left and the right warn that the victory of Greek moderate parties in Sunday’s elections will not bring the economic and political crisis in the country to an end. They all agree that if Greece defaults, it will entail the end of the European Union. READ MORE

Tags: austerity, EU, Germany, Greece, Merkel

Canada set to automatically reject Hungarian asylum claims

A pro-government columnist welcomes the Canadian government’s plan to end the practice of granting refugee status to Hungarian claimants. Canada, he believes, has recognized that the mainly Roma Hungarian asylum seekers are not facing persecution, as NGOs and left-wing opposition parties claim. READ MORE

Tags: Canada, discrimination, foreign affairs, racism, Roma

Interpretation wars around Hungarian history

Commentators on the left and right trade accusations about hidden agendas and propagating half-truths concerning the charges of anti-Semitism, the heritage of Imre Nagy and the Strasbourg court ruling on wearing the red star in public. READ MORE

Tags: Arrow-Cross, Horthy, Kádár, Nyírő

Mid-term evaluations of the Fidesz government

Centrist analysts call the economic performance of the government disheartening, while right-wing commentators draw attention to a recent opinion poll according to which voters are still more satisfied with the present government than with the two previous ones.

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Tags: EU, Orbán, Poland

2013 draft budget might be too optimistic

A right wing columnist suggests that the 2013 draft budget figures to be submitted to Parliament might be too optimistic, although they had been intended to reassure the markets. A left wing pundit thinks Economy Minister György Matolcsy’s attempt to refute an article published in The Economist is damaging to Hungary’s reputation. READ MORE

Tags: budget, Matolcsy

History as the main battlefield of the culture wars

A leading conservative journalist calls for a peaceful assessment of 20^th century Hungarian history, and blames the left for refusing to face the negative heritage of the Communist past. READ MORE

Tags: culture wars, history, Horthy, Kádár

Fidesz must reverse current trends to win in 2014

A centrist commentator suggests that Fidesz is sliding towards electoral defeat, and to change that trend a shift would be needed in government policies. READ MORE

Tags: Fidesz, Orbán, polls

Municipal elections in Romania: a flop?

A right wing journalist believes the Romanian elections turned out much as expected: voters punished the former governing coalition for going along with the dictates of the IMF.  A left wing daily, on the other hand, publishes a commentary with the title “RMDSZ-Fidesz 3:0”, suggesting that the engagement of Fidesz on behalf of two small ethnic Hungarian parties backfired. READ MORE

Tags: IMF, Orbán, Romania, Tőkés

For want of a credible opposition

A left-wing commentator argues that although the Orbán government has not done much, it may still win the next election for want of a credible alternative. READ MORE

Tags: opposition, Orbán