Hungary’s national dailies offer diametrically opposed interpretations of Tuesday’s meeting between PM Viktor Orbán and US ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. Left wing newspapers believe the Hungarian government was severely criticised for what they term its undemocratic tendencies, while pro-government commentators suggest that no words of censure were uttered. READ MORE
A left wing pundit suggests that Hungary should follow the example of the United States and borrow from China to alleviate her financial difficulties. READ MORE
Left and right wing analysts are united in their delight over the fall of Colonel Gaddafi, as well as in their concern over what will happen next in Libya. READ MORE
In an apparent attempt to calm the controversy over Hungarian-American relations, the state secretary responsible for foreign affairs, Zsolt Németh deems it fully acceptable that the US Ambassador to Budapest expressed her critical views in a newspaper article. Reacting in the same daily, Magyar Nemzet, Németh suggests that Washington is not always too well informed about Hungarian affairs, but says the two countries are staunch allies and the US Ambassador is a good friend of Hungary. READ MORE
Commentaries marking Saint Stephen’s day turn invariably around some of the usual controversies which divide left and right: Hungary’s international image, internal ideological divisions and the economic policies advisable in today’s unfavourable world business climate.
Left wing commentators welcome the unequivocal warnings addressed to the Hungarian government by various Western sources, while right wing analysts deem accusations of anti-democratic tendencies directed at Hungarian leaders unfair. READ MORE
A moderately conservative opinion page carries an unusually angry commentary on US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas O. Melia’s criticism of the direction public affairs are taking in Hungary.
PM Orbán Viktor’s speech last Saturday in Transylvania has been harshly criticized by left-wing commentators, most of whom are worried that Orbán is planning to turn Hungary away from the West, in order to strengthen Eastern partnerships. A liberal conservative analyst finds the real problem among left-wing pundits is taking a mistaken quotation for granted without checking the source, and by doing so, distorting Orbán’s message completely. READ MORE
PM Viktor Orbán suggests that Hungary should focus less on the declining West, where sovereign debts have become unmanageable, and concentrate instead on introducing a labour-based economic model, whilst strengthening ties with Central European countries. Pundits ponder the possible implications of the PM’s new vision. READ MORE
Few question the advantages of the bilateral agreements signed by PM Viktor Orbán and his counterpart Wen Jiabao on June 25 in Budapest, especially in the mainstream press. Many popular bloggers, however, even on the right of the political spectrum, argue that the government went too far in its courtesy towards the Asian giant. READ MORE