There was agreement within Fidesz that Hungary needed a satellite system usable for both mass communications and military purposes if the country was to gain an advantage in the competition between nations in the 21st century. Where they very much did not agree was on precisely who should receive this fat, multi-hundred-billion-forint investment.
Entering the space industry would have come at a huge cost
Under the leadership of Orsolya Ferencz, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade worked for years on a plan for a Hungarian satellite system, Direkt36 reports on Telex. The idea was not to build a single device but to develop a system comprising several satellites, which would have served civilian purposes – such as communications and broadcasting – alongside military objectives. The project would have been kept under state control for national security reasons, with costs estimated at around 250 billion forints.
Orbán liked the idea, yet someone else got the project
In autumn 2023, Ferencz presented the plans to Viktor Orbán at the Karmelita. According to Direkt36’s sources, it was then that the prime minister truly recognised the strategic importance of a Hungarian satellite system of his own, and thanked Ferencz for the presentation. Not long afterwards, however, there was a twist: Orbán decided that the system would be built not directly by the state, but by 4iG. From January 2024, oversight of space industry development was also transferred from the foreign ministry to the Ministry of National Economy, led by Marton Nagy.
The Ministry of National Economy subsequently signed three contracts with 4iG. Their combined value is €2.36 billion, or roughly 850 billion forints, which the state would have paid out over about a decade and a half for satellite services. The company already received an advance of around 49 billion forints in 2025.
Some of the necessary expertise reached 4iG only later
According to Direkt36, 4iG did not yet possess serious space technology experience at that point. The company established a separate space industry subsidiary in February 2024, and around the same time acquired a 45 per cent stake in Remred, which already had space industry expertise.
4iG then began to emphasise that, through Remred, it had gained significant aerospace engineering know-how. In other words, the company did not enter the centre of the project as a player with fully developed satellite manufacturing capabilities: it began to build and acquire much of the capacity required in parallel with taking over the project. On the basis of the Direkt36 article, it appears that Orbán and his circle deliberately shaped matters so that, in the end, someone could be made to look suitable for carrying out such a project.
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Were financial conflicts also behind the collapse?
Orsolya Ferencz and her team were unhappy that the mega-deal would be handled not by the state but by an external player, and the former would-be Budapest mayor, envisioned as a “space commissioner”, became increasingly isolated. After the defeat, she turned into one of the sharpest critics of the Fidesz system and of Orbán himself.
Many believe that financial disputes of this kind were partly responsible for Fidesz’s collapse in the 12 April election. Orban’s party has remained at a low ebb since, although the latest Median poll shows it gaining 3 percentage points; Tisza’s support remains overwhelming, at 54 per cent among the entire population and 64 per cent among certain party voters. According to Peter Magyar, this would translate into a 160-seat majority in the 199-seat parliament if an election were held this coming Sunday.
Former government’s last hit is a HUF 1.3 trillion deal with Orbán-affiliated company, documents show
