Jobbik protests Lázár’s ‘threatening’ Budapest

Budapest (MTI) – The opposition Jobbik party has voiced protest over remarks by government office chief János Lázár, which they interpreted as a threat of possible retaliation for Budapest’s dropping its Olympic bid.

János Stummer, Jobbik’s regional director for Budapest, said that Lázár’s Friday remarks would create a division between “the pro-Olympic provinces and unenthusiastic Budapest residents”. He quoted Lázár and suggested that Budapest could see 1,000 billion forints (EUR 3.2bn) less in development funding after the city withdraws its bid to host the 2024 Games.

Stummer also quoted state secretary Bence Tuzson, who said on Saturday that there was no government decision as yet how to spend funds originally allocated to finance the bid. Jobbik will table a series of proposals in the next few days, Stummer said, and suggested that people close to ruling Fidesz may be “eying the yet unattended hundreds of millions”.

Stummer mentioned Hungary’s ailing health care as one possible area to spend the Olympic budget.

Source: MTI