The UK’s two-party system is crumbling, argued panellists at MCC Feszt 2025, where Dominic Cummings declared that the Conservatives are ‘finished’. Joined by Mick Hume and Jacob Reynolds, he explored how Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, might upend the old order and take control of the state from entrenched bureaucracies.
‘Critics of the deal highlighted that—although some ridiculed the UK in May for agreeing to 10 per cent tariffs with Washington—the post-Brexit United Kingdom managed to strike a more favourable deal with the US administration than the economically more powerful 27-member European Union.’
During the opening panel of MCC Feszt 2025 on Thursday, Balázs Orbán declared that the European Commission had betrayed European citizens by accepting the humiliating terms of the US–EU trade deal and that Ursula von der Leyen should resign. Joined by Patrick Deneen and James Orr, the panellists explored the prospects of a world beyond liberalism.
After the US–EU trade deal, it is impossible to ignore the striking similarities between late Qing‑era China and Europe’s current predicament. The period marking the downfall of the Qing dynasty is known as China’s Century of Humiliation—a process that, in many respects, is already well underway in today’s Europe. Yet our humiliation must not be allowed to last a century.
‘We are no longer living in an age where mere export promotion or trade fairs are sufficient to stimulate economic growth. What Germany lacks is strategic positioning in a geopolitical context that has dramatically changed. That is where we step in. BWA Global Economic Network is Germany’s only institutional framework that consistently thinks in terms of economic diplomacy…’
Esztergom will once again host MCC Feszt, one of Hungary’s most prominent intellectual festivals, kicking off Thursday with a diverse mix of public debates, lectures, and concerts. Headliners include Peter Thiel, Sebastian Kurz, and Dominic Cummings, with nearly 50,000 visitors expected, according to MCC Director General Zoltán Szalai.
‘The EU accession of a country financially subjugated to Brussels would have far-reaching implications for the functioning of the Union. If Ukraine were to join the EU as a Member State, it would gain veto power in the Council, a Commissioner in the European Commission, and dozens of MEPs in the European Parliament—amounting to significant voting influence within EU institutions.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appeared as the first guest of a new political podcast, sharing insights on digital activism, the youth vote, internal polling, the EU, and migration, declaring the internet a battleground that must not be surrendered.
A wave of backlash followed Zelenskyy’s move to strip Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies of independence—prompting former Trump adviser Steve Cortes to argue that Kyiv is no longer a trustworthy partner. With public discontent rising in both Ukraine and the US, Americans’ sentiment of disengagement may strengthen.
‘Every industrial revolution—and we are in the midst of a new one led by the tech aristocracy—goes through motions that breed new speech and social contracts…The real lesson from this debate is for the new tech-right aristocracy to figure out how they want to wield their power to achieve that equilibrium.’