Commentators on both the right and the left agree that former Premier Gyurcsány’s decision to start a hunger strike in protest against the government’s electoral reform is a piece of theatre which cannot be taken seriously, and will do little to mobilize the masses. READ MORE
Commenting on the re-election of the LMP floor leader, and the party’s decision not to join anti-Jobbik demonstrations, left-wing pundits wonder if the green party will and can maintain its centrist image. READ MORE
A popular political analyst believes if elections were held today, the outcome would be uncertain – for the first time since 2010. READ MORE
A friendly columnist believes that the failure of the LMP to gather the 200 thousand signatures for their referendum project was a defeat for the left-wing opposition as a whole. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist accuses the LMP of strengthening radical right-wing Jobbik by not cooperating with left-wing opposition parties. A founding member of the LMP rejects the accusations, while a liberal pundit believes that after the next election the LMP could become Fidesz’s coalition partner.
A pro-Gyurcsány commentator believes that the MSZP should cooperate with its left-wing allies, instead of criticizing LMP and the Democratic Coalition, since only a broad coalition of the left-wing opposition can hope to defeat Orbán at the next election. READ MORE
Commenting on Saturday’s large pro-government march in Budapest, a left-wing commentator recognises that government supporters are good at organising “revolutions”. Right wing analysts express diverging views on what Hungary’s attitude should be towards international investors and the European Union. READ MORE
Political commentators agree that the resignation of LMP floor-leader András Schiffer signals the beginning of a new era, not only for his party but for the whole Hungarian political scene. READ MORE
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
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