The leading left-wing daily fears that Vladimir Putin’s March visit, announced this week, is another indication of the Hungarian government’s Eastern orientation. A conservative analyst points out that Hungary needs to maintain good relations with both Germany and Russia. Another left-wing commentator suspects that PM Orbán may want to revise the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Ukraine. READ MORE
Commenting on Angela Merkel’s announced visit to Budapest, a left-wing columnist suggests that the German chancellor wants to pressurise PM Orbán to abandon what he calls his pro-Russian course. A conservative commentator believes that the German chancellor understands Hungary’s position. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator accuses the PM of conducting a ’seesaw’ policy between the West and Russia. He even goes so far as suggesting that Mr Orbán’s policy is prompted by Moscow. READ MORE
A left wing columnist calls on the Prime Minister to apologise for his latest remark on German criticism of constitutional changes in Hungary. A centrist commentator suspects that the real cause behind the divergence of views is Mr Orbán’s scepticism towards Ms Merkel’s vision of a federal European Union. A right-wing pundit blames western media outlets for spreading lies about Hungary. READ MORE
Following the Hungarian Prime Minister’s talks with Angela Merkel, a pro-government daily warns against harsh condemnation of Germany in the right-wing media, as Berlin is an ally and “closer than we think.” In a short editorial Népszabadság suggests that in order to measure the results of Orbán’s visit we will have to count Hungary’s share of the EU’s cohesion and structural funds. READ MORE
Commentators on both the left and the right warn that the victory of Greek moderate parties in Sunday’s elections will not bring the economic and political crisis in the country to an end. They all agree that if Greece defaults, it will entail the end of the European Union. READ MORE
In his regular lead column in 168 óra, Tamás Mészáros suggests that the Prime Minister’s radical “freedom fighter’s” rhetoric is aimed at keeping his camp together amid the present financial difficulties. READ MORE
Rumours about an abandoned Western plan to topple Hungary’s prime minister are interpreted by a leading right-wing commentator as proof that what liberals and left-wingers have always dismissed as radical, paranoid conspiracy theories, were actually true. READ MORE
Speculation about the impending resignation of Pál Schmitt continues in the press, as both the Government and the Office of the President maintain their silence about the plagiarism scandal. READ MORE
Right wing Magyar Nemzet is sarcastic about letters from the Chairman of the European Commission and the US Secretary of State to the Hungarian PM, while left wing Népszabadság speculates about the lack of public criticism towards Hungary on the part of the German government. READ MORE