A left-wing commentator believes that a new cold war is breaking out between Russia and the West, and Hungary cannot continue a foreign policy which involves sleeping in both camps. A conservative analyst warns that a compromise between the great powers is becoming ever more unlikely as time passes. Another pro-government commentator calls for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia. READ MORE
A columnist in the leading conservative daily contends that the primary cause of the Middle East conflict is the occupation of Palestinian land by Israel. His left-wing counterpart, on the other hand, believes that the violence is being provoked first and foremost by Hamas and other radical Palestinian organizations. READ MORE
As Hungary passes the rotating presidency of the Visegrád 4 cooperation scheme to Slovakia, a conservative columnist finds it disappointing that the V4 group has mostly failed to create a close Central European regional partnership. Another right-wing pundit and his left-wing counterpart, however, believe that the Orbán government is doing its best to improve its ties with neighbouring states, although it does not always succeed. READ MORE
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech in Berlin and his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, a left-wing columnist believes that Mr Orbán’s vision is too conservative even for German Christian Democrats. Right-wing commentators, on the other hand, contend that the German government regards Hungary as an important and reliable economic and geopolitical ally. READ MORE
A conservative columnist known for his frequently critical remarks on US foreign policy accuses the prospective US ambassador to Budapest of infringing upon Hungarian sovereignty with her critical sentences about the state of democratic checks and balances in Hungary. READ MORE
Pundits across the political spectrum believe that Colleen Bradley Bell, the new US Ambassador to Hungary will form a rather dim picture of Hungary and its government if she gathers information from the US press before taking up her post. READ MORE
A geopolitical analyst, in a comment on the last televised presidential debate in the US, wonders whether Hungary would be better off with a conservative US president who despises state regulation in the economy, but endorses a hard line in foreign policy. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist welcomes the Canadian government’s plan to end the practice of granting refugee status to Hungarian claimants. Canada, he believes, has recognized that the mainly Roma Hungarian asylum seekers are not facing persecution, as NGOs and left-wing opposition parties claim. READ MORE
Commentators seem to agree that Hungarians in Slovakia are among the losers of the Parliamentary election there. Some blame what they call the Orbán government’s wrong-headed cross-border policies; others believe the new inter-ethnic party is at fault. READ MORE
Magyar Hírlap welcomes PM Viktor Orbán’s decision to attend the EU-summit last weekend, instead of staying in Hungary to mark the anniversary of the 1956 revolution. READ MORE