Commentators in right wing dailies welcome the news that the IMF has accepted the amended National Bank Act and will now resume negotiations. Left of centre dailies criticise the delays, the prevarications and fear that the government might at any time decide to turn back and play the ”Turkish card” again. READ MORE
A right wing columnist suggests that the 2013 draft budget figures to be submitted to Parliament might be too optimistic, although they had been intended to reassure the markets. A left wing pundit thinks Economy Minister György Matolcsy’s attempt to refute an article published in The Economist is damaging to Hungary’s reputation. READ MORE
A left-wing pundit chastises public officials and the conservative press for what he calls their pathetic attempts to deny the charges levelled against the government in the West. Former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel of Austria takes up PM Orbán’s defence. Otherwise, observers across the political spectrum agree that Hungary faces significant difficulties in the months ahead. READ MORE
The government’s tough and uncompromising determination has successfully convinced the banks that they have to do more to help indebted Hungarians, struggling to service their loans in foreign currencies, a pro-government commentator believes. READ MORE
Calls for the Minister of the Economy to resign are becoming more frequent, and are discussed by commentators from both sides of the political spectrum. A left wing columnist accuses PM Viktor Orbán of whipping up hatred, and calls upon moderate Fidesz politicians to intervene. His right wing counterpart favours a government compromise between employers and employees, rather than between the government and its opponents. READ MORE
Left wing papers call for PM Viktor Orbán and National Economy Minister György Matolcsy to resign after Moody’s downgraded Hungary to junk status. There are striking differences of interpretation, meanwhile, between the two pro-government dailies. READ MORE
In a commentary which borders on the offensive, Magyar Hírlap compares the government’s economic policies to those of its left-wing predecessors. READ MORE
Left wing commentators are extremely critical of the measures announced by the Prime Minister and the Economy Minister on Tuesday. The right wing daily Magyar Nemzet reminds readers that it was the previous Socialist governments which ran the country so deeply into debt. READ MORE