Will the new cocktail work?
Fidesz secured a two-thirds majority in last year’s election by promising a stronger welfare state. Left-wing commentators suggest that in government they have reneged on their campaign pledges and...
View ArticleWho pays for the free lunch?
Changes to the law which require work in return for welfare payments, are sharply criticised by left-leaning commentators. They suggest that the requirement is inhumane, and predict that the planned...
View ArticleLabour Code debate opens
The draft bill just published by the Ministry for National Economy aims to reduce the rights of employees. Employers would, among other changes, find it easier to lay off pregnant women and parents on...
View ArticleSocial housing or ghettos?
Left-wing commentators fear that the government’s latest housing scheme will produce a suburban ghetto. The Ministry of Interior has announced plans to build new homes for families who can no longer...
View ArticleWhat is left on the left?
Pundits across the political spectrum have recently been preoccupied with the question whether a broad coalition on the left could successfully replace Fidesz at the next election. Left-wing...
View ArticleAgainst austerity
A right-wing economist contends that Europe should follow the example of the BRIC countries and help the middle classes kick start economic growth. His left-wing counterpart defends the welfare state...
View ArticleIs Orbán a social democrat?
Right-wing commentators contend that PM Orbán’s vision is closer to social democratic ideals than the policies of past socialist-liberal governments. Left-wing pundits, on the other hand, accuse Fidesz...
View ArticleBasic income deemed unrealistic – for different reasons
A conservative columnist suspects that the Socialists will promise to introduce a guaranteed basic income for all inhabitants, although they know that the project is infeasible. The leading left-wing...
View ArticlePolitical projects to fight poverty (or the lack thereof)
A left-wing blogger accuses the government of adopting the social policies of the extreme Right, but also blames wthe Left for its inability to address the issue of poverty. A pro-government columnist...
View ArticleCall for compassionate Conservatism
A conservative analyst suggests that in times of severe social crisis, conservatives should not recoil from increasing state intervention in the economy and reducing poverty in order to strengthen...
View ArticleCatholic economist calls for revision of economics curriculums
An economist who is also a Dominican nun welcomes the National Bank’s efforts to follow leading scholars and universities around the world who have realized the importance of replacing neoliberal...
View ArticleInequality, and increase in consumption
Analysing fresh data on consumer spending last year, a liberal analyst ascribes a sizeable (2.7 per cent) increase in household consumption at least partly to the fact that 2014 was an election year,...
View ArticleWelfare in focus on Labour Day
Commentators on both Left and Right make fun of promises of increases in welfare payments by left-wing and far-right parties. Left-wing parties as well as Jobbik celebrated Labour Day with traditional...
View ArticleJobbik Mayor’s surveillance cameras monitor public workers
Commentators both on Left and Right condemn Dávid Janiczak, the Jobbik mayor of the northeastern town of Ózd, for his plans to install surveillance cameras including hidden camera spy glasses to...
View ArticleLiberal pundit cautions against minimum wage hike
A liberal columnist contends that the Left’s welfare promises are unrealistic and irresponsible. He suggests out that left-wing parties want to significantly increase government spending while at the...
View ArticleLe Pen at the gates
As the National Front advances in the first round of the French municipal elections, pundits across the political spectrum try to assess whether the appeal of radical parties in Europe is a transient...
View ArticleHousing subsidy scheme kicks off
Two conservative economists welcome the government’s plan to reverse unfavourable demographic trends through a lavish home subsidy scheme. A left-wing analyst thinks that the government’s proposal will...
View ArticleLeft-wing dispute over unconditional basic income
Left-wing columnists disagree whether the idea of an unconditional basic income is morally desirable or economically feasible. In Népszava, András Lázár argues that the unconditional basic income...
View ArticleThe Left’s failure to promise welfare
A left-wing columnist lambasts the Left for ignoring or even ridiculing everyday voters’ need for economic security and stability. He warns that in the absence of meaningful left-wing proposals on...
View ArticleRuminations on Hungary’s economic challenges
A left-wing sociologist thinks that the government has failed to improve welfare in Hungary. A pro-government economist contends that the Orbán government has been successful in boosting the economy...
View Article
