Hungarian Conservative

The district mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Brussels, Emir Kir, issued an administrative order to prohibit the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) scheduled for 16⁠–⁠17 April, citing ‘ensuring public safety’ as the reason. MCC, a co-organizer of the event, has now launched legal proceedings against Kir, claiming that the order violated the right of free speech.

‘Elite structures tend to consolidate a prevailing view whether that be the dictatorship of the proletariat or the dictatorship of the ‘trahison des clercs’ of Brussels. There seems to be no leadership in Europe; a reflection of the growing bureau government of Brussels. Europe, the crucible of nation states since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), is in crisis. It is the days of Weimar all over again. A resurgent right, a distrust of the organs of democracy. When representative democracy is exposed as leaderless and corruption, there is an inevitable pushback.’

In the absence of any condemnatory reaction from the European Parliament regarding the surreal events that occurred at last week’s National Conservatism Conference, seven MEPs have drafted an open letter to EP President Roberta Metsola, calling on her to denounce this significant infringement of freedom of expression.

Commenting on the outrageous attempts to shut down the National Conservatism Conference in Brussels earlier this week, MCC Brussels Director Frank Füredi stated in an op-ed on POLITICO: ‘The campaign to cancel the NatCon wasn’t simply directed against this organization but against the foundational values of democracy. Those behind the campaign believe public life must be subjected to the policing of speech. That’s bad news for all of us, regardless of ideological affiliation.’

As one of the keynote speakers, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed the issues of migration, freedom of expression, and the war in Ukraine on the second day of the National Conservatism Conference.

Even liberals did not take kindly to the decision by Brussels district mayor Emir Kir to use police force to try and shut down a right-wing conference featuring Viktor Orbán among the speakers. Kir faced severe criticism from Belgium’s left-wing prime minister, and the Conseil d’État, Belgium’s highest court, subsequently annulled his order.

Brussels police has attempted to shut down the National Conservatism Conference that began this morning in Brussels. The gathering features, among others, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The left has been striving to obstruct the right-wing event for days, seemingly resorting to extreme measures to suppress dissent.

‘Why did the left-wing oligarchy (a political-administrative and academic-media apparatus) mobilize its militant wing against a conference of a few hundred conservatives? Did it fear that its political opponents would win too many hearts, minds, and Euros? No. Canceling the original, sought-after venue was a naked exercise of its power. Réseau Ades warned that the agitation efforts will persist until NatCon Brussels 2024 is entirely aborted.’