A conservative author thinks the French Foreign Ministry harmed itself by leaking a confidential note in which its ambassador to Budapest suggested a shift in France’s attitude toward the Hungarian Prime Minister. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator suggests that the government had to make concessions as the price for Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó’s meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington. READ MORE
Although Hungary (along with the Czech Republic and Romania) vetoed an EU statement condemning the relocation of the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, a pro-government columnist warns that President Trump’s move may be responsible for more violence in the region. A left-wing commentator finds it unwise for the Hungarian government to have sided the US rather than the EU. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator explains that the Prime Minister of Romania resigned for reasons unconnected to the Hungarian protest against his statement on the Szekler flag. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist criticizes the US charge d’affaires for accusing the Hungarian government of interfering with the media. A left-wing analyst thinks that Hungarian-US relations are unlikely to improve under the Trump administration. READ MORE
Pro-government commentators welcome the government’s firm reaction to criticism from the Dutch ambassador to Budapest. Left-wing and liberal pundits, on the other hand, accuse the government of paranoia and overreaction. READ MORE
A statement by the spokesman of the State Department has added further vigour to the debate over the future of Budapest’s Central European University. One side forthrightly condemns the planned new legislation, while the other dismisses the unfolding protest as mere hysteria. READ MORE
In an interview with the ATV television website, Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó said Hungary has been regularly under heavy pressure from the US State Department and he had unpleasant personal exchanges with Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland with both of them speaking at the top of their voice. READ MORE
Opinions sharply diverge on the government’s decision to withdraw from an international organisation set up five years ago to keep a tighter rein on corruption. Hungary has been often ‘criticised without being heard’, say friends of the government. READ MORE
Commentators disagree on whether the Foreign Minister was right to ban his diplomats from attending the commemoration ceremony of the Romanian Embassy in Budapest on Romania’s National Holiday that symbolises the transfer of Transylvania from Hungary to Romania in 1918, after World War I. READ MORE