Jokers and chokers

Even though some six months ago there was practically full political consensus for the Hungarian capital to battle Los Angeles, Rome and Paris to host the 2024 Olympics, the hopes of Budapest came to a screeching halt in late February when, in light of a successful signature collection drive, the government decided to retire from the competition. When I say political consensus, I mean the Big Five – Fidesz, MSZP, Jobbik, DK and LMP – were all behind the bid, but in the meantime the leftist parties changed their minds. How could this have happened, you might ask? The answer is one word: momentum. Like that, with lower-case m. The fact is that the Momentum political movement – which organised the signature drive – caused more disruptions on the left than it did for Fidesz. In other words: Momentum had momentum and the parties of the opposition became scared that a new force on the left could rise, one that cannot be beaten so easily. And you know how the saying goes: if you can’t beat them, join them. And that’s exactly what they did. They quickly signed up for the anti-Olympic campaign and now they have their hands choking the neck of their new political opponents. Only the next few months will tell if Momentum has enough momentum to shake those hands. I doubt it.