Budapest has three cafes devoted to Roger Scruton. His ideas of the home and his talk of the rituals of a nation seem to resonate especially strongly among Europe’s right-wingers
Scruton cafe in Budapest don’t turn up for its chicken and buttered cauliflower. Nor for its decor. Instead they come for the peculiar contents on show. Scattered around the room are a writing table, a blue-and-white china tea set and a collection of vinyl records all shipped from England. Odd goods are also on sale. Spend 4,900 forints and you can pick up a T-shirt emblazoned with “Conservatism is more an instinct than an idea”.
It’s peculiar to see a cafe in Budapest devoted to Scruton, a conservative Englishman who died in 2020. Stranger yet, two more such cafes exist in the Hungarian capital. In each are scattered “Scrutopia”: various items donated by his widow from his flat in London and farm in Wiltshire. Most striking is the sight of a saddle and riding crop.
In Britain, Scruton’s ideas have gained some traction. As prime minister, Theresa May appointed him to lead official efforts to rewrite planning rules to ensure new constructions went up along traditionalist lines—a process dubbed “building beautiful”. A summer school for avid Scruton disciples in Britain takes place each June.
Where Scruton really stirs up strongest interest, however, is among those on the right fringe of continental European politics—the most notable adherent is Hungary’s authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban. Scruton’s ideas of the home and his talk of the rituals of a nation seem to resonate especially strongly. Mr Orban can employ such ideas to try to justify his hostility to immigrants and to international institutions such as the European Union . Some right-leaning Swedes are fond of Scruton, too.
Mr Orban was personally fond of Scruton, and showed up for his funeral in Britain. That was, in part, because Scruton had supported the anti-communist underground in the 1970s and 1980s, and frequently visited central European countries to help dissidents. The Hungarian government is also channelling money, through bodies such as the Batthyany Lajos Foundation and the Danube Institute, to promote Scruton’s thought. They support meetings of Scruton-enthusiasts from America, Britain and elsewhere.
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