A left-wing commentator contends that instead of boosting industrial output, the government should help the service sector. A conservative economist on the other hand notes that reindustrialization is in fashion both in the EU and in the US. READ MORE
A liberal columnist contends that the US is pressurizing Hungary in order to protect its own geopolitical interests. Centrist and liberal conservative commentators warn of the consequences of diplomatic isolation and call for reconciliation with the US and the EU. A liberal weekly speculates that PM Orbán is already on his way out of the EU and NATO. READ MORE
A few hours after the Prime Minister’s announcement that his government will not introduce the planned tax on internet use, because ”under these conditions it simply cannot be introduced,” the net swarmed with comments on his Hungarian Radio interview. Friends and foes alike admit that he is still flexible enough to react to the public mood. READ MORE
A conservative columnist contends that the proposed US-EU free trade agreement is likely to serve US geopolitical interests and may not be in line with the wishes of Europeans. A moderate commentator believes that the US is bent on increasing its formal and informal influence in Eastern Europe in order to weaken illiberal regimes which challenge its hegemony. READ MORE
Commentators take it for granted that PM Orbán’s candidate will get his seat in the European Commission. A right-wing analyst believes that Navracsics’s questioning in the Cultural Committee of the European Parliament was meant to gloss over a deal that had been struck well in advance. READ MORE
Népszabadság thinks the future Hungarian Commissioner is an unprincipled man who dissociated himself from the government he has served for 4 years in order to get a seat in the European Commission. Magyar Nemzet writes that Tibor Navracsics kept his composure throughout the tough hearing. READ MORE
A conservative analyst contends that a new model of ‘Europeanism’ is emerging in Central Europe. Central Europeans are realizing that EU integration is only possible at a slower pace. READ MORE
Two pro-government pundits agree that it would be foolish of Hungary to hesitate between East and West. They warn against the temptation to overemphasise disagreements with Hungary’s western allies. READ MORE
The Left considers the post insignificant and an expression of dissatisfaction with the Hungarian government, while the Right thinks the portfolio is of strategic importance. READ MORE
Analysts from both right and left agree that European leaders wanted to send strong symbolic messages through the appointment of Donald Tusk and Federica Mogherini to top EU jobs. A conservative columnist believes Polish PM Tusk’s appointment is good news for Hungary. His left-wing counterpart cautions the Left against harsh anti-Russian rhetoric. READ MORE