Viktor Orbán's overwhelming defeat in Hungary's recent election threatens to cut off financial support that has flowed to British populist right figures, including Tory peer David Frost and Reform UK's Matt Goodwin. For 16 years, Orbán's Fidesz party channelled millions through thinktanks and individuals aligned with hard-right conservatism, but the change in government now risks halting that funding.
Key beneficiaries include MCC Brussels, a thinktank headed by British-Hungarian sociologist Frank Furedi, which has been almost entirely funded since 2022 by a grant from Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a Hungarian educational institution backed by Orbán's government. MCC's shares in the energy company MOL, which sources oil from Russia, have led to accusations that the funding effectively runs on Russian oil.
British recipients of MCC funding include the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation (RSLF), which received over £500,000 since 2023—more than 90% of its total funding. The RSLF board includes former minister Michael Gove and Nigel Farage's adviser James Orr. Goodwin, a Reform UK candidate, was listed as an MCC visiting fellow, reportedly paid between €5,000 and €10,000 per month, though Reform denies the higher figure.
Other funding came from the Danube Institute, a Budapest thinktank that provided tens of thousands of pounds to British figures like Lord Frost in exchange for media appearances. Hungary's prime minister-elect, Péter Magyar, has criticised such state financing, stating, 'I believe the state should never have financed them in the first place.'
Furedi acknowledged the funding threat, saying, 'If we're deprived of our existing stream of funding, then we'll just have to go out with a cap and raise money.' He insisted his organisation had 'total autonomy' and would seek alternative corporate or other sources.
