It is a well-known fact that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a big sports fan. After the Olympics, he sat down with György Szöllősi, the editor-in-chief of the primary Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport, to share his thoughts on how he felt the Olympics went for his nation.
As we reported, Hungary had finished 14th on the medal table, with six golds, seven silvers, and six bronzes.
PM Orbán, however, had been hoping for eight golds, as he told Nemzeti Sport. He still described the eventual six golds won as a ‘respectable showing’, especially given the fact that Former President Pál Schmitt, a former Olympic gold medallist fencer, projected only five golds. However,
Viktor Orbán believes that Hungary’s rightful place is in the top 10 of the Olympic medal table.
On the all-time medal table across all summer games, Hungary is in fact in the top 10, currently ranked #8.
Our country has also outperformed every other in the region, with Ukraine being the closest Eastern European country on the table at #22. While PM Orbán is proud of this fact, he also believes that strong sports performances by Eastern European nations could help elevate each other. ‘Our interest is a more successful Romania, a more successful Croatia, more gold medals for the Serbians and the Slovakians…I would have liked to see a Hungary–Serbia men’s water polo final,’ he told the paper.
He also talked about swimmer Kristóf Milák, who delivered a gold and silver medal for his nation, and whom he described as ‘a type of genius you can’t figure out’. He shared a little bit of his own management philosophy, saying that there are some ‘nonconformist geniuses’ who perform their best if they are left alone.
PM Orbán was disappointed, however, that Hungary had not won a single gold in the kayak-canoeing events, despite it being a historically lucrative sport for the country in terms of Olympic medals. There were plenty of medals won, Tamara Csipes won two silvers and a bronze herself, but no first place on the board for Hungary.
‘The champions are in a different category.
There is very little separating silver from bronze, but there is a world of difference between gold and silver,’
PM Orbán said.
The Prime Minister also revealed that he was contemplating firing State Secretary for Sports Ádám Schmidt during the Olympics, and only decided to refrain from doing so after Michelle Gulyás came in first in the pentathlon final on the last day of the games. Then, PM Orbán sent a one-word text to his State Secretary, saying ‘Maradhat’, which translates to three words, ‘You can stay’ in English.
At the end of the interview, Viktor Orbán also discussed the performance of Hungarian football clubs in European competitions, which has been outstanding compared to earlier years so far. Three teams, the champions Ferencváros, cup-winners Paks, and third-place finishers in the league Puskás Akadémia have all reached the play-offs: Ferencváros in the Europa League, while Paks and Puskás in the Conference League. They are all preparing for their game in the second leg after tying their respective first games.
‘I think you have to really hate the government, you have to really hate Hungarian football, and may even have to hate your own country to deny that there has been a positive development in this sport. No reasonable person can say that. We can debate whether or not we are improving at a sufficient pace. I am among those who would like to see us improve faster,’ PM Orbán concluded.
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