University exiled by Orbán to remain abroad after election defeat

The Central European University (CEU), which was forced out of Hungary eight years ago under Viktor Orbán, has no plans to abandon its new home in Vienna, its rector has said following the prime minister’s historic election defeat after 16 years in power.

Carsten Q. Schneider told Times Higher Education that the university would remain in Vienna, where it has been operating since 2019. “You cannot move a university twice,” he said, adding that it would be a “strategic mistake” to give up the advantages it had gained by setting up in the Austrian city.

His comments come after Péter Magyar’s Tisza party swept to victory in parliamentary elections held on Sunday, defeating Europe’s longest-serving leader. The former Orbán loyalist is on course to win a supermajority in parliament, which will give him the legal powers to reverse many of Orbán’s policies.

The election was watched around the world, including in Washington, Moscow and Brussels. Orbán has been a key ally of both US president Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He has also emerged as a standard-bearer for right-wing politics in Europe.

CEU, founded by Hungarian-born American billionaire George Soros, moved its teaching to Vienna after legislation introduced under Orbán, known as Lex CEU, effectively pushed it out of Hungary. It still has a presence in Budapest, which includes research centres, a library and offices.

“Degree programme teaching will remain in Vienna. The future of CEU remains a bi-local one, including both Vienna and Budapest,” Schneider said.

But any return of full degree teaching to Hungary is not currently on the cards, he said, adding that if opportunities arise to make greater use of its Budapest facilities for teaching, the university would take them.

When asked if Magyar’s team had been in contact, Schneider said: “Not on the university institutional level.”

The rector said the new government should make clear it will protect academic freedom, support the proper funding of research and aim to make Hungary attractive to international students.

But Schneider warned that simply dismantling what Orbán built would not be enough. “What is needed is a vision for how higher education in Hungary should look for the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

He added that the university’s long-term strategy would not fundamentally shift on the back of one election result. “Just imagine, in two years’ time, for whatever reason, Orbán wins again.”