Hungarian government offers refuge to Venezuelan Hungarians

A pro-government columnist welcomes the government’s decision to admit more than 300 Venezuelan individuals with Hungarian ancestry. A left-wing commentator agrees with the decision, but finds it peculiar that humanitarian help should be conditional on ethnic kinship.

George Soros confronts the charges

A left-wing columnist accepts Mr Soros’s claim that the charges levelled against him are untrue and complains about the success of lies in politics. Her pro-government counterpart rejects Mr Soros’s view that PM Orbán is running a mafia-state and calls him a mafioso.

Will Fidesz keep its 2/3 majority?

Left-wing commentators still hope that a crushing Fidesz victory can be prevented. In that case, they suggest, any complaints from the Left about the new election rules will seem more credible. Their right-wing counterparts meanwhile are pulling out all the stops to mobilise their readers for one last push. They ...

Jobbik’s mounting popularity connected to “African” revelations

Népszabadság believes that in reaction to the low moral standards of mainstream political parties, disenchanted voters may turn towards the extreme right.

Opposition accused of pondering crackdown

The leading pro-government daily accuses DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány of planning violence if the opposition alliance wins.

Opposition accuses PM of siding with Putin

A former Socialist MEP calls on opposition parties to focus on their social and political messages in the campaign, rather than on raising fears about Russian expansionism. Such language does not suit them, he warns, and is also counterproductive.

Accusations of electoral and media manipulation in the campaign

A left-wing commentator accuses the government of manipulating the election through gerrymandering and domination of the media. A columnist in the leading left-wing daily contends that the public media distorts even reports on events on Ukraine in order to save PM Orbán’s face. A pro-government pundit, on the other hand, ...

Gyurcsány strikes back

As former PM Gyurcsány denies having leaked his famous “lie-speech”, left-wing columnists suggest that the publication of the tapes and even the riots which followed could have been orchestrated by Fidesz politicians. Pro-government commentators, on the other hand, contend that Gyurcsány’s involvement in the leak is beyond doubt.

Extreme right leader elected village mayor

Pro-government commentators accuse former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s DK party of being ready to cooperate with far right organizations to beat Fidesz. Some liberal commentators agree that the DK’s anti-Orbán rhetoric may have strange side-effects, others point out that local DK leaders acted without the knowledge of the centre and were ...

Opposition unity – not easy!

The leading right-wing daily paints a desolate picture of the state of the left wing opposition - less than one year before the next elections.