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
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
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
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
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
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