A left-wing columnist suggests that the National Bank will surrender its independence after the appointment of its new president next month. A conservative pundit doubts that the National Bank has much room to stimulate growth through monetary policy as hoped for by the government. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist believes that Finance Minister György Matolcsy has joined the chorus of right-wing politicians and intellectuals who try to blame the Holocaust purely on the Nazi German occupiers of Hungary. READ MORE
As the Forint weakens against the Euro, pundits wonder why international speculators are selling the Hungarian currency, and whether its slump is the result of the uncertainty related to the imminent choice of a new National Bank president, and of a possible quantitative easing program. READ MORE
Commentators agree that the weakening of the Hungarian currency (HUF) was due to a statement by the Minister of the Economy. One cautions the PM against nominating him for the presidency of the National Bank. Other analysts think recent events have dealt several blows to the authority of the governing élite. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum wonder why the exchange rate of the Forint declined in December. Pro-government analysts suggest purely external factors are responsible, while left-wing columnists blame the fall primarily on the government. READ MORE
The leading right-wing daily claims that the new austerity measures are the result of “IMF blackmail,” while its counterpart on the left suggests that either Matolcsy has difficulties with numbers or he lied when he announced his first package. READ MORE
Left-of-centre, centrist and pro-government commentators are all appalled by the sudden move announced as part of a 400 billion HUF fiscal package READ MORE
The editorial of a pro-government daily describes the package as a necessity under the constraints of the global economic crisis, while a centrist economist dismisses it as yet another unrealistic plan.
Columnists wonder whether or not the government’s announcement that it will restructure the 2013 budget in order to save 397 billion Forints means that it has abandoned its previous economic strategy . Left-wing and liberal analysts believe that the government has thereby admitted the failure of its previous earlier policies. A pro-government pundit suggests that it is too early to reach a verdict on the government’s efforts. READ MORE
A right-wing commentator, echoing the government’s claims, believes that the Orbán government’s widely criticised ’unorthodox’ economic measures are being copied by various European countries. A centrist online news site, however, finds such comparisons unconvincing. READ MORE