This week witnessed significant developments for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Europe with notable events held in Poland and Hungary. These gatherings are particularly timely as they precede Poland’s presidential election runoff featuring CPAC-endorsed nationalist Karol Nawrocki and Warsaw’s liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, which has been depicted as a crucial “battle for Western civilization.”
Traditionally, CPAC has served as a platform for American conservative activists, but it has gained greater prominence with Donald Trump’s return to power, thus reinforcing the dominance of the MAGA movement within the Republican Party. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban noted that such conferences represent strength, stating, “This is not a gathering of the defeated, but of those who have endured.”
Orban, referring to Trump as a “truth serum,” shared his vision of a rejuvenated Europe grounded in nationalism, traditional family values, and a specific interpretation of Christianity. Attendees voiced their criticisms of the European Union’s Green Deal and expressed concerns about immigration and progressive gender issues. Amidst an energetic environment filled with music and captivating presentations, older politicians appeared somewhat overwhelmed.
Echoed by other nationalist figures, including Alice Weidel and Geert Wilders, Orban articulated fears of societal changes that have left Europeans feeling like strangers in their own neighborhoods. The event aimed to cultivate a new form of conservatism in Europe, breaking away from older EU values.
The conference attracted a plethora of influential political figures from various nations, reinforcing a sense of a transnational alliance for nationalist movements against globalism. Observers noted that while the American CPAC is primarily a political event, the Hungarian iteration possesses deeper intellectual undertones, fostering connectivity among nationalist and populist leaders.
Despite this resurgence in Europe, recent electoral defeats for such movements in Romania and Albania remind one of the ongoing challenges they face.
Source: www.bbc.com
