Commenting on the government’s foreign affairs strategy, most left-wing and liberal commentators accuse PM Orbán of selling out to Moscow. Right-wing pundits, on the other hand, defend what they see as the government’s pragmatic and balanced foreign affairs vision. Some moderate analysts castigate mindless exaggerations and ideologically motivated approaches on both sides. READ MORE
After PM’s Orbán visit to Warsaw and his uneasy talks with the Polish Prime Minister over Russia and Ukraine, a conservative columnist accuses Poland of subservience to Washington. A left-wing commentator, on the other hand, believes that Mr Orbán has lost all credibility in Poland. READ MORE
As Hungary passes the rotating presidency of the Visegrád 4 cooperation scheme to Slovakia, a conservative columnist finds it disappointing that the V4 group has mostly failed to create a close Central European regional partnership. Another right-wing pundit and his left-wing counterpart, however, believe that the Orbán government is doing its best to improve its ties with neighbouring states, although it does not always succeed. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist says Ukraine is not simply a victim of Russian aggression but a battleground between the US and Russia, and Kiev can only keep eastern Ukraine if it agrees to grant autonomy to local ethnic Russian residents. An opposition daily thinks Hungary has a responsibility towards beyond-border Hungarians but Orbán’s call for autonomy and dual citizenship for Hungarians in Transcarpathia was likely to create tensions in Ukraine and was therefore a cynical move. Another opposition columnist asks what consequences the Ukraine crisis and Orbán’s statement may have for the autonomy plans of Hungarian-speaking Szeklers in Romania. READ MORE
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.
Looking back at the controversial March 15 celebrations in Budapest, a conservative Polish commentator finds it sad that there are no more non-political national holidays, at least not in Hungary. And the contagion has reached Poland as well. READ MORE