Right-wing columnists commenting on the Sunday anti-Fidesz protest accuse Washington of trying to pressurise and destabilise the Orbán government through non-democratic means. They disagree, however, on whether the Hungarian government should take up the gauntlet or seek reconciliation. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum agree that the United States wants Hungary to reverse the political course it has been following for the past few years. All place the recent American entry ban imposed on six Hungarian personalities suspected of corruption in this context. But they disagree on who is right and who is wrong in this dispute. READ MORE
Pro-government commentators find it strange that while Washington sees Hungarian moves to investigate Norwegian funded projects as a serious attack on civil society, the United States has its own problems with Norwegian financed think tanks posing as independent research institutions. READ MORE
Commentators believe the government is taking the scandalous developments seriously but are not yet sure about the consequences. In his last published comment before his death, a right-wing columnist scorns the left for seeking foreign help in the light of its successive electoral defeats. READ MORE
Commenting on the unprecedented case of Hungarian officials and businessman banned from entering the United States (see BudaPost, October 20), a well-known conservative philosopher thinks the government should avoid antagonising the United States. READ MORE
As the US bans a number of unnamed Hungarian state officials and businessmen from entering the US, left-wing and liberal columnists contend that the US wants to teach what they call the corrupt and increasingly pro-Russian Orbán government a lesson. Conservative pundits believe that the US wants to set an example and send the message that it does not tolerate any deviation from its foreign policy line or any violation of its financial interests. READ MORE
A conservative columnist contends that the proposed US-EU free trade agreement is likely to serve US geopolitical interests and may not be in line with the wishes of Europeans. A moderate commentator believes that the US is bent on increasing its formal and informal influence in Eastern Europe in order to weaken illiberal regimes which challenge its hegemony. READ MORE
A moderate conservative blogger thinks the government was wrong to ban a racist conference in Budapest. She praises the US embassy for declining to comment on the detention of the main organiser, an American citizen, and believes the US should display such restrained manners more often. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist sees the critical remarks made by President Obama accusing the Hungarian government of intimidating NGOs as evidence that the US is deeply concerned about the state of Hungarian democracy. A pro-government commentator accuses President Obama of applying double standards against Hungary. READ MORE