A pro-government commentator notes that while Viktor Orbán’s Saturday rally was attended by Joseph Daul, the opposition event on Sunday did not even receive official greetings from European Socialists. READ MORE
Left-wing commentators still hope that a crushing Fidesz victory can be prevented. In that case, they suggest, any complaints from the Left about the new election rules will seem more credible. Their right-wing counterparts meanwhile are pulling out all the stops to mobilise their readers for one last push. They argue that the latest scandals have stripped the Left of its last shreds of credibility. READ MORE
Commentators on both the right and left fear that Jobbik may increase its constituency yet further in the 6 April Parliamentary election, after reaping almost 17 per cent of the popular vote four years ago. Left-wing commentators argue against despair, and one lays the blame for the bankruptcy of the Left on the Liberals and personally on Ferenc Gyurcsány. READ MORE
In an unsigned editorial, Népszabadság suggests that the recent scandals concerning MSZP politicians who are accused of tax fraud and bribery are lethal to the identity of a left wing party. READ MORE
An independent conservative commentator wonders why Fidesz is not content with its comfortable lead in the polls and bothers to flood the media with government advertisements. A liberal commentator complains that the opposition’s only strategy seems to be to wait for major mistakes on the part of government, and has now even begun to blame its coming defeat on the LMP. One centrist analyst suggests that it is time for the MSZP to disappear from the scene because of its endemic corruption
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Commentators agree that the revelations of a former Socialist MP ,who served six years in prison for corruption, are extremely painful for the Left. Left-wing authors add however, that they believe the claims have been fabricated for propaganda purposes. READ MORE
A business weekly suggests that the mishandling of public funds in the 18th district of Budapest (in the pre-2010 period) must have given ample opportunity for Socialist luminaries to enrich themselves. A liberal commentator thinks that accusing Fidesz of having an even bigger appetite since then is no answer to the present case in which a leading Socialist politician was caught red handed. READ MORE
Commentators are less than convinced about the explanations offered by the MSZP about the undeclared assets of a leading Socialist. Left-wing pundits, however, are calling for similar investigations of right-wing politicians’ wealth as well as more transparent campaign regulations. READ MORE
The leading left-wing daily speculates that the Paks nuclear plant construction deal with Russia serves only the interests of Moscow and entrepreneurs allied to Fidesz. Pro-government pundits, on the other hand, consider the agreement beneficial for the country, and accuse left-wing politicians of having used the Paks nuclear plant in the past to finance their own party and private business. READ MORE
Left-wing commentators call on the MSZP to disown its corrupt politicians, after a pro-government daily unveiled a secret bank account with hundreds of millions of undeclared funds possessed by Socialist Vice Chairman Gábor Simon. The leading left-wing daily adds that the scandal further diminishes the chances of the left at the election in April. READ MORE