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Bajnai back on the pitch


Népszabadság welcomes former Prime Minister Bajnai’s re-entry into the political arena, although the last left-wing premier has not yet made it clear whether he would be ready to lead an anti-government coalition. READ MORE

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Is the IMF offer irrefutable?


Népszabadság believes Hungary’s chief IMF negotiator will just have to sign the draft he will be shown in Washington, no matter what the conditions are. Magyar Nemzet contends however that the government should not just listen to what the IMF wants. READ MORE

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The price of an agreement with the IMF and the EU


Left and right wing commentators agree that the Hungarian government has no choice but to reach an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. While Népszabadság and Népszava urge the cabinet to return to European norms, both Magyar Nemzet and Magyar Hírlap believe that there is no need to crawl on all fours to the lenders. READ MORE

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Anti-government platform lacks coherent program


Liberal and conservative pundits wonder if the anti-government NGOs and the opposition parties have a program which could constitute a real alternative to the Orbán government.  The commentators suggest the anti-government groups have no clear ideas about what they want to do after ousting Orbán. If successful, such politics would only perpetuate populist rhetoric, they argue. READ MORE

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Hungarian government under mounting press pressure


The Forint stopped sinking on Thursday after a soothing statement by the Hungarian IMF negotiator. Prior to that statement, commentators from both right and left warned that the government should be more cooperative with the EU and the IMF in order to restore the confidence of international investors. READ MORE

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Orbán is no Le Pen


A left-wing columnist finds Le Monde’s latest caricature depicting Orbán as a radical right-wing politician a clear overstatement and a false hyperbole. But he warns that the cartoon indicates that the West is highly critical of the course being followed by the Hungarian government. READ MORE

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Opposition protests against the new Constitution


Commentators from the political centre wonder if the anti-government demonstrations on January 2 mark a turning point in Hungarian politics. They suggest that the presence of tens of thousands of Hungarians on the streets shows that the Orbán government is losing support. Right-wing commentators, on the other hand, claim that the opposition uses the NGOs for its own purposes. READ MORE

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Mass resignation of doctors cancelled


A pro-government commentator is relieved by the fact that the government at the very last moment promised significant wage rises for doctors. The doctors had threatened to quit their jobs en masse on January 1. READ MORE

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Hungary bracing for a tough New Year


All commentators agree that 2012 will be even tougher than 2010.  But they disagree on the reasons, and on the best policy to follow. READ MORE

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IMF preparatory talks to start early January


Népszabadság thinks the government may put the badly needed IMF credit line at risk, rather than complying with Western demands. Magyar Nemzet, on the other hand, argues that the Hungarian economy would be in good shape had it not been for the IMF-loans taken out by the former Socialist government. READ MORE

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