Commenting on Transparency International’s recent Corruption Perception Index and the selling of state-owned farmland, both a left-wing and a conservative columnist accuse the government of corruption. READ MORE
The leading left-wing daily calls for privatization or substantial extra public spending in the health care system in order to overcome current underfinancing. A liberal commentator fears that the government’s plans to raise wages will not deter doctors from leaving the country or accepting cash ‘bonuses’ from patients. READ MORE
Commentators both on the right and the left welcome a court verdict which compels the MAL aluminium company to compensate victims of the 2010 red sludge disaster. A pro-government columnist believes that the accident was the result of the poorly thought out privatisation of the plant by the former Socialist-Liberal coalition. READ MORE
A leading anti-liberal economist calls for active public involvement in the economy, instead of restrictions “demanded by the IMF and the EU”. She claims that no growth is possible without government intervention. READ MORE
A conservative columnist welcomes the government’s plan to buy German DZ’s share in Takarékbank, a small savings bank, which carries out about 5 per cent of all banking transactions. She believes this is a first step towards a sounder ownership structure in the banking world. READ MORE
A right-wing columnist welcomes efforts by the Hungarian government to fulfil its promise to offer significant salary rises to doctors and nurses. She notes, however, that in the current health care system it is not possible to offer salaries which are competitive at a European level. READ MORE