A liberal view of Budapest’s failed Olympic bid
Monday, March 6th, 2017Magyar Narancs celebrates the withdrawal of Budapest’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games as a third victory over Viktor Orbán and his government within a year.
Further ruminations on the withdrawn Olympic bid
Saturday, February 25th, 2017Two conservative columnists regret that there will be no referendum on the Olympic application. A third conservative pundit thinks that the bid fell prey to party politics. READ MORE
Budapest withdraws Olympic bid
Friday, February 24th, 2017As the government announces that it is withdrawing the application for the 2024 Olympic Games, a pro-government commentator accuses the Left of betraying the nation as well as its own voters. Liberal analysts, on the other hand, rejoice over the announcement. READ MORE
Can Momentum keep up the momentum?
Monday, February 20th, 2017Most commentators believe that the governing forces will withdraw Budapest’s Olympic bid, after a new political movement collected almost twice as many signatures as necessary to back a referendum on the subject. They also ponder whether Momentum, after this spectacular success, will become a significant opposition force. READ MORE
Is the Olympic bid doomed?
Saturday, February 18th, 2017A centrist analyst believes that the cause of the 2024 Budapest Olympic Games is irrevocably lost, as it has lost popular support in the Hungarian capital. He lays the blame on the promoters themselves. READ MORE
Olympics referendum lacks support of Left
Wednesday, February 15th, 2017A left-wing commentator lambasts the MSZP and the DK for criticising the initiators of a referendum on Budapest’s bid for the 2024 Olympics, and accuses them of playing into the government’s hands. READ MORE
Young people collect signatures against Budapest’s Olympic bid
Wednesday, February 1st, 2017Left-liberal commentators resolutely oppose the government’s plans to host the 2024 Olympic Games, but are undecided about Momentum (Momo for short), the movement founded by Hungarian graduates of British universities who are promoting a referendum against the project. READ MORE
Campaign against Hungary’s Olympic bid
Thursday, January 26th, 2017The Momentum Movement, a new youth organization has started to collect signatures to call a referendum to derail the Budapest 2024 Olympic bid. 35,000 were collected in the first 3 days, of 138,000 necessary. Commentators assess the political implications of the Olympic bid as well as the referendum initiative. READ MORE
Olympic culture war
Monday, August 29th, 2016In their overall assessment of the Rio Olympic Games, Hungarian pundits interpret the performance of Hungarian athletes and the importance of sports in highly ideological and overly politicized terms. READ MORE
The politics of the Olympic Games
Tuesday, August 9th, 2016A left-wing commentator accuses the main public TV channel covering the Rio games of spreading the government’s anti-immigrant message. A conservative pundit thinks that the Left is using the Olympic games to criticize the government. READ MORE