A month ahead of the municipal elections, conservative columnists agree that the Left has little chance to avoid another defeat. Among the causes of the Left’s decline they mention that it has become ideologically hollow and lacks able leaders on various levels. READ MORE
A conservative analyst contends that the Hungarian Left is failing to offer compelling and coherent answers to the challenges of contemporary societies. Instead, its representatives keep repeating the hollow slogans of liberalism – and label their opponents as fascists. READ MORE
Left-liberal analysts excoriate the competing left-wing parties and believe that something different has to emerge because in their present state, these forces are no match for the governing conservatives. READ MORE
A pro-government daily says the Szárszó meeting shows left-liberal circles lost their way because they are inimical to the concepts of nation and patriotism. The number one left-wing daily draws the conclusion that the Left is not able at present to defy the government or even to compete successfully with Jobbik. READ MORE
A left-wing analyst argues for “creative destruction” on the progressive side to create a movement that could defeat the governing right wing in 2018. READ MORE
A liberal analyst thinks the Left has not found a language that could make its messages convincing, while the govenring conservatives are keen on reacting to people’s everyday concerns. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist suggests that a healthy democracy would require a stronger and more credible left-wing opposition to counterbalance the excesses of the government. A left-wing columnist contends in a bitter article that the Socialists have done nothing to renew themselves after their huge defeat at the April election. READ MORE
Left-liberal intellectuals blame the “servant mentality” of the public for the failure of the left-wing alliance parties. They suggest that Hungarians prefer the individual pursuit of self-interest to collective action against those who exploit them. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, believes that left-wing intellectuals despise ordinary Hungarians. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist suggests that the Left should focus on the plight of ordinary Hungarians living in poverty, rather than on left-wing elites whose concerns are distant from the problems of those living below the subsistence level. A centrist and a conservative commentator point out that it will be very hard for the Left to shift its focus and revamp its image. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum agree that the left has been shattered and will need to completely reinvent itself after another huge defeat. Conservative columnists maintain that the overwhelming support legitimizes all the reforms and policies introduced by the Orbán government in the past four years. READ MORE