For this episode of Budapest, I am joined by Cas Mudde — distinguished research professor at the University of Georgia and one of the world's foremost scholars of the far right and populism, whose work spans European politics, the radical right, and the unexpected connection between soccer and politics.

Budapest, as he reminds us, is not just a city: it is in ourselves. The line between liberal and illiberal democracy is not as sharp as we would like to believe — and that is precisely what makes it so dangerous. For decades, he argues, the Left misdiagnosed the far right, focusing on the actors rather than the policies. Meanwhile the far right radicalised, and the centre shifted to the right.

From Germany's "militant democracy" to the health of US democracy, we trace the return of ideology within the three-dimensional politics of today. Because politics, as Mudde insists, is not just about solving problems — it is about deciding what counts as a problem in the first place.

In this episode:

• How the left misdiagnosed the far right
• The surveillance state
• Germany's militant democracy
• The Biden lesson on accountability
• Rural provinces and the geography of US politics
• Plutocracy and the far right: a relationship we need to address
• The return of ideology in three-dimensional politics
• Mamdani, Sanders, and the class argument

With reason, not rage.

Timestamps 

1:21 – Georgia is like Budapest

2:40 – We live in a surveillance state

4:45 – The example of the German "militant" democracy

8:40 – The left has misdiagnosed the far right

13:03 – Is the EU a happy island?

17:00 – Hungary is a unique case — and the Meloni model is spreading

19:15 – The far right doesn't moderate: it's the mainstream that radicalises

23:00 – There is always someone to your right

26:30 – Orbán accepted defeat. Trump did not.

35:00 – You need to be in the rural provinces to win US elections

38:50 – There is no single way out of the far right backlash

43:40 – Plutocracy and the far right: the relationship we need to address

47:00 – The class argument

50:00 – What is the centre in today's three-dimensional politics?

54:00 – We should not fear ideology

58:00 – Biden's lesson on accountability

1:05:00 – Have awkward conversations with people who are close to you

Author and host: Ivan Scalfarotto

Editor and social media: Ludovica Taurisano

Graphic designer: Paola De Bartolo

Visual identity: Martina Santurri

Sound designer: Enrico Cabua