Left-wing commentators poke fun at Jobbik MEP Csanád Szegedi who has turned out to have Jewish ancestry. Far right bloggers urge him to withdraw from politics. Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona says the case proves that his party is not racist. READ MORE
A popular analyst suggests Fidesz may profit from the self-assurance Socialist leaders have been exhibiting lately as a result of recent trends in party preferences. READ MORE
Observers draw gloomy conclusions from the arrest and attempted suicide of the former left-wing Romanian prime minister. READ MORE
Commentators agree that the new criminal code is more punitive than the previous one, but opinions differ as to how useful the changes are. READ MORE
Left-wing newspapers fear that a ban envisaged on Communist style street names could lead to a ban on their own titles. A centrist conservative blogger sees the bill submitted by right-wing MPs as a new step in the war over historical symbols. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator welcomes the European Commission’s decision to require Hungary to tax farmers who distil brandy. A right-wing columnist find the demand ridiculous and accuses the EU of applying double standards, once again, towards Hungary. READ MORE
The leading pro-government daily welcomes the decision by the ECOFIN to lift the suspension of 500 million Euros in aid to Hungary, and explains it as an open acknowledgement of the validity of the government’s economic policies. Left-wing commentators, on the other hand, believe that the Hungarian government has wasted two years and was forced by the EU to back-pedal on the counter-productive economic strategy it initially pursued. READ MORE
After an angry and passionate exchange of opinions about a supposed revival of the cult of Miklós Horthy, leading columnists from both left and right call for a less opinionated approach, and caution against the over-politicized simplification and distortion of controversial and sensitive historical issues. READ MORE
Commenting on an MSZP proposal to introduce mandatory voting, Róbert Friss in Népszabadság fears that rewarding active voters would neither help to roll back populism nor increase democratic legitimacy. READ MORE
A right-wing columnist downplays the importance of Elie Wiesel’s decision to return the highest Hungarian state honour in protest against what he sees as the government’s efforts to restore anti-Semitic icons. A left-wing pundit, on the other hand, believes that the case will receive international attention and further harm the image of the Orbán government. A centrist commentator notes that the previous socialist-liberal coalitions did much less against anti-Semitism than the current Fidesz government. READ MORE