Following on the heels of left-wing criticism of former Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, for his very own plagiarism scandal, a centrist analyst tentatively suggests that Hungary might finally profit from the elimination of double standards. A columnist close to Gyurcsány suggests, however that the plagiarism case may be a fabrication, while a Népszabadság blogger argues that the burden of proof is on Gyurcsány now.
A leading right-wing columnist accuses the Hungarian left-wing media and blogosphere of double standards after HírTV, a right wing television channel, revealed that Ferenc Gyurcsány’s Teachers College thesis could be a copy of his former brother-in-law’s. Népszabadság, meanwhile, claims that HírTV is “going after Gyurcsány”. READ MORE
By choosing János Áder as his candidate for the presidency, PM Viktor Orbán has shown that he still cares for his one-time co-founders of Fidesz, even if they have sometimes disagreed with him in the past. By implication, he has also accepted the idea that the President will not necessarily support the government on all issues. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist thinks that János Áder as president will be a puppet of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. A right-wing commentator, on the other hand, is convinced that Áder is an ideal candidate, since he has the experience and skills to defend himself and Hungary’s democratic image. READ MORE
A right-wing commentator suggests that scores of doctoral and MA theses should be scrutinized after the President of the Republic stood accused of having plagiarised his own, and was forced to resign. READ MORE
Columnists draw conflicting conclusions from President Pál Schmitt’s resignation. READ MORE
According to the Constitution, Parliament has to elect the successor of President Pál Schmitt within 30 days, but a popular centrist observer thinks we will find out the new candidate within a week. READ MORE
Whatever their political affiliations, Hungary’s daily newspapers are united in regretting President Pál Schmitt’s refusal to resign, despite being stripped of his doctoral title by the Semmelweis University in Budapest. READ MORE
The two leading dailies contend that President Pál Schmitt should have resigned after a fact-finding committee identified academic dishonesty in his doctoral thesis. A left-wing analyst, on the other hand, hopes that Schmitt will stay in office to remind Hungarians of the moral bankruptcy of the Orbán government. READ MORE
Commentators from across the political spectrum are trying to make sense of a report released by the fact-finding committee investigating whether President Pál Schmitt was guilty of plagiarism in his 1992 doctoral thesis. Commentators from both the right and the left believe that the President should step down. READ MORE