Commenting on the recommendation by the anti-fraud agency (OLAF) of the European Union that Hungary should be compelled to refund the equivalent of 75 billion forints of European contributions because of alleged corruption, a pro-government columnist urges exemplary punishment for the culprits. READ MORE
Opinions sharply diverge on the government’s decision to withdraw from an international organisation set up five years ago to keep a tighter rein on corruption. Hungary has been often ‘criticised without being heard’, say friends of the government. READ MORE
Commenting on the latest (2016) Transparency International corruption index, a left-wing columnist thinks that Hungarians feel powerless against corruption because no corrupt officials have been seriously punished for the past 25 years. READ MORE
Commenting on improving car theft statistics, a conservative pundit fears that the decline in the number of cars stolen may weaken the public’s awareness of large scale corruption. READ MORE
A conservative columnist criticizes the National Bank for hiring former counterespionage officers. A pro-government economist, on the other hand, alleges that its critics want to take revenge on the National Bank for cutting into the profit of financial speculators. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator believes that it would be extremely difficult to cover up the latest corruption scandal probably involving a Fidesz MP. READ MORE
Claims by Tamás Portik, a prominent figure from the Hungarian underworld, that he gave a leading Fidesz politician the equivalent of 10 million forints in Euros receive a different reception in left and right wing media. Pro-government news outlets find contradictions in his testimony, while the leading left-wing daily is undecided. READ MORE
As the debate over the management of the funds of the National Bank (MNB) rolls on, passionate articles abound both in condemnation and in defence of its President.
Magyar Idők accuses former Socialist Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy’s
Considering the kind of flexibility Fidesz displayed with regard to Sunday shop closures, the opposition parties’ only effective weapon against the government remains the theme of corruption, Magyar Nemzet believes. Fidesz, however, is much better at waging jungle war, Magyar Idők warns. READ MORE