Dispute over government record

A pro-government commentator praises the government’s vaccination performance and post-Covid recovery policies. Left-wing columnists, on the other hand, fear serious problems ahead, including increasing inequality.

Magyar Nemzet’s Gergely Kiss praises the government’s achievements so far in helping the Hungarian economy to recover. The pro-government columnist finds it impressive that Hungarians can freely enjoy their holidays while there are coronavirus restrictions in many other countries. Kiss points out that popular tourist destinations in Hungary are fully booked. He believes that the government’s vaccination plan, focusing on Eastern jabs to make up for a temporary shortfall in Western vaccines, was a huge success – as well as its economic policies, which rejected austerity measures and increased family benefits.

In Népszava, Katalin Halmai quotes a recent survey by the European Trade Union Confederation. She notes that 72 per cent of Hungarians who live beneath the poverty line – some 750,000 people – cannot afford the luxury of a holiday.

In a separate article in the same daily, András Vas and Erika Gulyás point out that according to the National Statistical Office’s dataset, the number of Hungarian families living in poverty is declining, but at the same time, inequality is on the rise. The left-wing journalists note that as the average wage increases, the gap between rich and poor becomes ever deeper.

Tags: coronavirus, economy