Both left and right-wing commentators missed Romanian politicians at this year’s Fidesz summer university at Tusnádfürdő. A left-wing columnist, however, accuses PM Orbán of trans-border vote hunting while his pro-government counterparts believe that the electoral impact of the Hungarian diaspora will be miniscule. READ MORE
A pro-government journalist calls the Romanian response to Hungary’s innocent symbolic gesture aggressive and unreasonable. A left-wing daily on the other hand accuses the government of insensitivity to the delicate problems of beyond-border Hungarian minorities in Romania. READ MORE
Commentators agree that tensions around the use of national symbols in Transylvania help to divert attention from the harsh restrictive measures being taken by the Romanian government. Some, however, also blame the Hungarian government and the RMDSZ, the main Hungarian party in Transylvania. READ MORE
While right-leaning columnists ridicule the Socialists for their new-found enthusiasm for Hungarian minorities abroad, journalists on the left suggest that Fidesz may have lost hope of gaining all minority Hungarian votes. A Hungarian analyst in Romania warns Hungary’s political élite against patronising attitudes. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist criticizes the Socialists for establishing institutional ties with the main Hungarian party in Romania. She suggests that the MSZP is motivated purely by the importance of transborder voters at the next Parliamentary elections. READ MORE
A right-wing columnist believes that Hungarians in Romania played a decisive role in Sunday’s failed referendum, which intended to remove President Basescu from office. A left-wing pundit, on the other hand, believes that the active involvement of the Hungarian government in the campaign will weaken the Hungarian minority in Romania. READ MORE
Commentators seem to agree that Hungarians in Slovakia are among the losers of the Parliamentary election there. Some blame what they call the Orbán government’s wrong-headed cross-border policies; others believe the new inter-ethnic party is at fault. READ MORE