A centre-right journalist describes László L. Simon as a moderate, unjustly reviled by liberals, who lost his battle against the far more conservative chairmann of the Hungarian Art Academy. A left-liberal commentator writes that the removal of László Simon is another sign of culture wars raging within the governing party, in which the loyalty of office holders is prized above their expertise. READ MORE
A pro-government commentator welcomes a decision by the Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute former Budapest police chief Péter Gergényi for his involvement in the 2006 riots, but finds it problematic that it took more than six years to bring the case to court. READ MORE
An influential right wing pundit claims the demonstration is a joint MSZP-Jobbik attack on the government, while independent bloggers accuse the official parliamentary guard of complicity in setting up a counter-demonstration banner in front of Parliament. A libertarian commentator finds it rather sad that marching people still expect the government to provide them with “work and bread”, instead of asking for a truly free market and the rule of law. READ MORE
A left-wing and a centrist pundit say Bajnai has finally put an end to the speculation and acknowledged his intention to lead his new party in the next elections. But they find his messages confused and off-putting for potential voters. READ MORE
The leading left-wing daily contends that the government wants to curtail the rights of the Constitutional Court by amending the Basic Law. A conservative lawyer, on the other hand, criticizes the Constitutional Court for not strictly applying the principles of the new Basic Law. READ MORE
Commentators from across the political spectrum agree that the government has managed to increase the sum originally allocated to Hungary in the 2014-2020 EU budget. They also agree however that more effective EU integration would require far more money. 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
A left-wing columnist suggests that the National Bank will surrender its independence after the appointment of its new president next month. A conservative pundit doubts that the National Bank has much room to stimulate growth through monetary policy as hoped for by the government. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist believes that Finance Minister György Matolcsy has joined the chorus of right-wing politicians and intellectuals who try to blame the Holocaust purely on the Nazi German occupiers of Hungary. READ MORE
The leading left-wing daily comments on a recent consumer confidence study, which suggests that the Hungarian public is highly disillusioned, despite the government’s efforts to communicate what it considers an economic success story. READ MORE