Budapest (MTI) – The opposition LMP party supports the referendum initiatives on organising the Budapest Olympics and the upgrade of the Varosliget (City Park), Antal Csardi, LMP’s councillor in Budapest, said on Saturday.
LMP trusts that the Kuria, Hungary’s supreme court, would approve questions on both topics for a referendum in a decision expected on Jan 28, Csardi told a press conference held jointly with LMP’s spokesman on community participation Istvan Ferenczi.
Under the latest plans the government wants to spend 2.3 trillion forints (EUR 7.3bn) on the Olympics, which based on international experiences and the government’s “corrupt practices” is more likely to be around 3-4 trillion, Csardi said. LMP does not think Hungary can afford to spend this much on a “sporting event that lasts a few weeks,” he said, adding that Budapest is not prepared for the Games, as the city is struggling even with paying for transport services in greater Budapest. In addition LMP wants the City Park to maintain its function as a green belt of the city and should not be “covered in blocks of concrete”.
On December 14 last year, the Budapest Election Committee approved for local referendum a question on the City Park project submitted by Gergely Karacsony, co-leader of the opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party, and one on organising the Olympics submitted by a private individual. Karacsony said at the time that given that the initiatives are likely to be attacked, it could be late January or early February that the signature drive for the referendum can begin.