Under the resolution seen by Reuters and being put to the city council on Wednesday, Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos will ask the government to “clarify whether, as national unity ended, there is any point in sustaining Budapest’s candidacy.”
Bidding alongside powerhouses Los Angeles and Paris, Budapest has been considered a long-shot candidate, pinning its hopes on the International Olympic Committee’s Agenda 2020 initiative that seeks a return for the event to simpler values and smaller price tags.
After local opponents of the candidacy last week submitted a quarter of a million signatures on a petition for a referendum on the bid, Tarlos suggested the city might quit the race.
But he also rejected responsibility for allowing the bid to fail, saying the issue was a national one.
Wednesday’s council resolution is due to authorise Tarlos to discuss the bid with the national government and Olympic committee.
According to a survey published on Wednesday by pollster Median, half of Hungarians would like Budapest to withdraw the bid, with only a third supporting it nationally.
