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Brussels-Budapest: strained relations

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Left-wing commentators accuse PM Orbán of challenging the common values that unite the 27 member countries of the European Union, while pro-government pundits argue that the Hungarian government is just defending the national interest. READ MORE

Hungary at loggerheads with the EU

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

A centrist analyst predicts that “verbal war” between Hungary and the European Union is here to stay, but no real punitive sanctions are probable. READ MORE

EP debate on Hungary’s constitutional amendments

Friday, April 19th, 2013

A moderate pro-government weekly is proud of being the target of criticism from a leading Socialist MEP during Wednesday’s debate about the Hungarian Constitution in Strasbourg. It suggests, nevertheless, that Hungary should solve its judicial problems at home. READ MORE

PM Orbán defiant towards the EU

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

A centrist blogger believes that the PM does not mind criticism from European leaders, but is unlikely to risk punitive sanctions from the European Union. READ MORE

Hungary under fire from Brussels

Monday, April 15th, 2013

A leading left-wing commentator criticises the Prime Minister’s explanation of the discontent expressed by European officials over recent legal developments in Hungary, while a Fidesz MEP thinks Hungary’s policies are being criticised because they do not fit into “the liberal consensus”. READ MORE

Anti-Semitic motorbike action to be banned

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

A leftist daily welcomes the Prime Minister’s decision to have an anti-Semitic demonstration planned on Holocaust Remembrance Day banned.. Other centrist and left-liberal columnists, on the other hand, call for freedom of assembly for all citizens, including those who oppose freedom itself. READ MORE

Retirement accounts – the price of a hasty promise

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

A left-wing paper and an independent liberal commentator both excoriate the government for going back on its promise to create individual retirement accounts for those citizens who transferred their compulsory retirement savings to the national social security system. READ MORE

Magyar Hírlap’s ‘scoop’ parodied in Népszava

Friday, April 5th, 2013

In a blatant parody of a Magyar Hírlap story alleging that Socialist leader Mesterházy is facing a serious challenge from an older generation of party officials, Népszava writes that dissatisfied Fidesz members might send an ultimatum to PM Viktor Orbán, demanding a correction of his political course. READ MORE

Singer-songwriter to leave in distress

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

A left-wing commentator would prefer to see Viktor Orbán leave his country, while his right-wing counterpart criticises Peter Gerendás for making what he describes as his ‘market failure’ a political issue. READ MORE

Hungarian government criticized in German public media

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Left-wing commentators criticize the government’s reaction to German public media reports which claim that undemocratic trends are the order of the day in Hungary. A conservative liberal blogger, on the other hand, believes that the German media habitually paint a distorted and biased picture of Hungary. READ MORE