According to the Constitution, Parliament has to elect the successor of President Pál Schmitt within 30 days, but a popular centrist observer thinks we will find out the new candidate within a week. READ MORE
Centre-right Fidesz is walking a tightrope, trying to distance itself from the radical right-wing Jobbik party in order to strengthen its democratic and pro-EU image, without alienating radical leaning right-wing voters, a liberal weekly argues. READ MORE
Liberal commentators are divided over the meaning of a handshake with the leader of Jobbik, and the place of the far right party in the Hungarian political landscape. Most left-leaning intellectuals consider any gesture towards Jobbik unacceptable, while others invoke the fact that Jobbik won a place in Parliament democratically. 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.
Liberal and left-wing analysts fear that the strengthening anti-EU rhetoric prevalent among the supporters of the government will in the long run play into the hands of the radical right. READ MORE
A moderate right-wing columnist finds the recent guesswork about a possible early election groundless. He believes that Fidesz has no reason to call an early vote, as it can win easily in 2014. READ MORE
A conservative liberal political analyst finds it highly unlikely that former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány’s new party will attract moderate conservatives disappointed by the current centre-right coalition. READ MORE
Journalists and political analysts of both leftist and conservative inclinations wonder who might emerge as a rival to Viktor Orbán either as prime minister or as right-wing leader. The centre-right governing coalition is losing support, but the opposition parties have failed so far to increase their own popularity. READ MORE
Népszabadság caught LMP leader András Schiffer chatting with Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona in the MPs’ office building and finds the scene unacceptable. Mandiner’s blogger, on the other hand, expects civilised behaviour from MPs towards one another, regardless of their political affiliations. READ MORE
According to a recent poll, the radical right-wing Jobbik has now overtaken the Socialists to become Hungary’s strongest opposition party. A right-wing blogger ponders whether Jobbik might become a coalition partner for Fidesz some time in the future. READ MORE