As Orbán-allied think tank is dismantled, leaders shop its network to MAGA

Budapest has suddenly lost its appeal as a magnet for international conservative intellectuals. American writer Rod Dreher recently declared in The Free Press that “Hungary is over,” describing the country as “just another small, secular-liberal European state within a globalist system.”

The shift follows Viktor Orbán’s defeat in the 12 April elections. The new government under Prime Minister Péter Magyar has moved to rein in state-funded institutions that once promoted Orbán’s vision. At the centre of this change is the Danube Institute (DI), a think tank closely tied to the state-funded Batthyány Lajos Foundation (BLA).

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For years, the DI operated from a luxurious mansion on Budapest’s Castle Hill. It offered well-paid fellowships to international researchers and writers who helped position the city as an English-speaking hub of “Christian-conservative” and anti-globalist ideas. Permanent fellows received generous salaries for research and writing aligned with these themes. Temporary visitors, often also paid, added to the network. A light-hearted newsletter called Based in Budapest, edited by British writer Gavin Haynes, even tracked the community’s daily life – who was arriving for a fellowship, looking for furniture, or buying a bicycle.

That era has ended. In July, the Magyar government appointed Ildikó Veres, a tax advisory firm founder, as special commissioner to the BLA with a mandate to stop the waste of public funds. As a result, several international DI fellows are being let go. Dreher’s own six-figure contract was not renewed. Critics among the departing fellows described the atmosphere as one of “vengeance” and dismissed Veres as a “local bookkeeper.”

Yet DI leaders believe their network of institutional partnerships, past fellows, and Transatlantic contacts still holds value. They have pursued a two-track strategy: first, trying to convince the new government that the institute could still be useful by pivoting toward more moderate centre-right voices; second, privatising the network and seeking new funding from ideological allies in the United States.

The domestic pivot failed once the commissioner took control and required staff to focus on compliance rather than programming. Leadership then turned fully toward Washington. The DI already had ties to the Heritage Foundation (a former employer of DI president John O’Sullivan and author of Project 2025) and to the Center for Fundamental Rights, which co-hosted CPAC Hungary events.

Roughly a year before the Hungarian elections, O’Sullivan registered a non-profit called Danube Institute USA in Virginia. After the April vote, executive director István Kiss and international relations director Kristóf Veres travelled to Washington for closed-door talks. By the end of April the board had expanded to include Kiss and several American figures: Christopher DeMuth (a former Heritage fellow), John Fonte of the Hudson Institute, Carter LeCraw of a Christian-values investment firm, Notre Dame professor Patrick Deneen, and treasurer Cabell Hobbs, a Republican PAC consultant.

Corporate records show that Lex Politica, a Republican-aligned political law firm, represents the new entity. One of its founding partners, Chris Gober, has represented Elon Musk and his political action committee. Paperwork was handled by firm partner Steve Roberts.

Sources familiar with the discussions say DI leaders have held promising talks about potential funding, possibly linked to U.S. programmes supporting like-minded European groups. O’Sullivan, a former speechwriter to Margaret Thatcher who has known Orbán since the early 1990s, and Kiss, who has deep roots in Fidesz-linked institutions, are well placed to leverage the institute’s remaining European and Central Asian partnerships.

It remains unclear whether the American entity can fully separate itself from the Hungarian state apparatus that originally financed the Danube Institute. The new organisation continues to use the “Danube Institute” name even though the Hungarian government is no longer involved. For the network that once helped turn Budapest into a destination for the international right, the centre of gravity is now shifting westward.

A longer version of this article in English by our partner Atlatszo can be found here.

Caption: For years, the DI operated from a luxurious mansion on Budapest’s Castle Hill. Photo by the Marton Sarkadi Nagy, author of the original article.