?It is in nobody?s interest, and especially not the government?s, that Hungary should be put in an embarrassing position in front of the whole world,? Nagy said.
The government has paid all bills on time for the operation of the pavilion and will continue to do so, she said.
Insisting that the money for the pavilion had been transferred, Nagy expressed hope the organisers would do their best to avoid embarrassment for the country and likened claims the money had not been paid to ?blackmail?.
Without doubt, the contracts signed in the past for the operation of the pavilion were unfavourable for the Hungarian government, but the government will continue paying all rightful claims on time, Nagy said. The State Audit Office and the police are investigating the matter, she added.
Pavilion director István Dégen said on Thursday that payments for the operation of the pavilion were stopped in April, which could cause the venue to be shut down. He said events to mark Hungary?s August 20th national holiday would go ahead as planned because funding had been transferred at the last minute.
At the centre of the Hungarian Pavilion is the Gömböc (pronounced 'goemboets'), a self-righting object created by two Hungarian inventors. The Gömböc rights itself when in stable equilibrium, much like a roly-poly toy, but because of its shape, not because of its weight. The Gömböc is thus the first known homogenous object with one stable and one unstable equilibrium point.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
