According to Transparency International, Hungary was the most corrupt country in the European Union in 2023 under Orban.
While Matthew Goodwin, the right-wing academic who was announced as Reform UK’s candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election is known for his right-wing views, what many seem to have omitted is his admiration for the despotic ruler Viktor Orban and his regime in Hungary.
As Hope Not Hate point out, at one point Goodwin was a serious academic working to understand the drivers of far-right extremism, and for most of his career relatively liberal, seen by colleagues as hard working, bright and ambitious. But he is now one of the most influential radical right figures in the country.
The anti-extremist campaign group has also pointed out that despite claiming to be a fervent believer in free speech and a defender of academic freedom, Goodwin is also a vocal supporter of Viktor Orbán’s Hungary.
Last year he tweeted: “I just spent 4 days in Hungary, a conservative country criticised by elites across the West. I saw no crime. No homeless people. No riots. No unrest. No drugs. No mass immigration. No broken borders. No self-loathing. No chaos. And now I’ve just landed back in the UK.”
The Lead also reports that Goodwin has taken part in several events run by MCC Brussels, ‘a think-tank run by Revolutionary Communist Party guru Frank Furedi and heavily bankrolled by the Hungarian state’.
According to Transparency International, Hungary was the most corrupt country in the European Union in 2023 under Orban.
Since his election as prime minister in 2010, Orbán has led initiatives and laws to limit LGBT+ rights.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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