Patriots for Europe (PfE) held its annual meeting under the slogan ‘Make Europe Great Again’ (MEGA) over the weekend in Spain, bringing together the most prominent figures of the European right to address the seismic shifts in political realities. Following the summit’s more formal consultation on Friday, party leaders from the European Parliament’s third-largest group took the stage. Among them, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán delivered a speech filled with historical reflections, political defiance, and a call for a conservative resurgence.

With US president Donald Trump’s first weeks in office exceeding expectations, the PfE summit carried extraordinary significance and drew international attention. This was evident in the headlines of Western mainstream media—whose controversial links to and financing by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were recently exposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), co-chaired by Elon Musk. These outlets continued their usual demonization tactics against sovereignist forces across Europe and the Atlantic, branding the group as ‘far-right’ and ‘pro-Russian’.

Patriots Are the Future

On this significant Saturday in Madrid, arguably the leader of the European right, Viktor Orbán, took the stage to enthusiastic applause. Reflecting on the political shifts underway in the United States and Europe, the Hungarian prime minister emphasized that Trump’s return—which he often refers to as the ‘Trump Tornado’—has upended the global order. ‘Yesterday, we were the heretics. Today, we are the mainstream. Once, we were dismissed as the past; today, we are the future,’ he declared. ‘In America, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and Hungary, patriots are winning. Next up: Czechia!’ Orbán’s remarks pointed to the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Eastern European EU member state, where PfE co-founder Andrej Babiš’s ANO party is currently leading the polls with a commanding 16-percentage-point advantage.

Should Babiš prevail in October, all three PfE co-founders—Viktor Orbán, Austria’s Herbert Kickl, and Babiš himself—would be in government in their respective countries. This alone demonstrates the growing influence and support for sovereignist, conservative politics rooted in traditional values and genuine representation of the people, further amplified by Donald Trump’s historic re-election.

‘Yesterday, we were the heretics. Today, we are the mainstream. Once, we were dismissed as the past; today, we are the future’

Although not a member of PfE, the German right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is poised to achieve its best-ever electoral performance in the early elections on 23 February. After years of being subjected to a cordon sanitaire imposed by the mainstream parties, AfD has risen to become Germany’s second-largest party, polling at around 25 per cent in some estimates—narrowly trailing the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) within the margin of error. Meanwhile, progressive governments are seeing their support plummet, struggling to adapt to the new political realities as they lurch from crisis to crisis.

Hungary Leads Patriotic Resurgence

It is arguably true that the European right’s current resurgence could not have happened without Hungary. Orbán’s party, Fidesz, has won four consecutive elections, laying down the fundamental pillars of sovereignist governance while most EU member states have moved in the opposite direction. This divergence has made Hungary the public enemy number one in Europe for more than a decade. In his speech, prime minister Orbán also underscored Hungary’s role in the ongoing political shifts, describing the country as a ‘laboratory of conservative politics’ and emphasizing its success in protecting its borders, resisting mass migration, and safeguarding traditional values.

‘We have built a free, conservative, and Christian Hungary,’ he declared. ‘No illegal migrants enter our country. In Hungary, crossing the border without permission is a crime, not a political debate.’ He also pointed to Hungary’s rejection of gender ideology in schools and its constitutional protections for Christian culture, stating bluntly: ‘We had to write into the constitution that a mother is a woman, and a father is a man—something we once assumed everyone knew.’

Orbán later shared a segment of his speech on X with the caption: ‘The example of Hungary proves that a country can be successful, even if you refuse to follow what the progressive global elite dictates. This elite has been dealt a major blow by President @realDonaldTrump. Now it’s our turn, the turn of @PatriotsEU, to finish the job in Brussels.’

Taking Over Brussels

Turning to the broader European political landscape, the prime minister criticized Brussels’ leadership for economic decline, migration policies, and its handling of the Ukraine war. ‘Brussels has ruined Europe. They have opened the gates to an invasion, drained our wealth to finance a hopeless war, and driven our economy into decline,’ he stated. Citing billionaire George Soros’ advocacy for large-scale migration in 2015, he pointed to the arrival of nine million migrants since then, stating: ‘Population replacement is not a conspiracy theory—it is happening before our eyes.’

Finally, addressing the summit’s host, Orbán urged support for VOX in Spain. ‘Europe has been taken hostage by the progressive elites. But you, the Spanish people, know how to tame a raging bull,’ he said, referring to the EU establishment. He praised Abascal as ‘the bravest toreador in politics’ and called on conservatives across Europe to unite. ‘Let’s tame this bull together,’ he concluded. ‘Vamos Santiago! Vamos Patriotas! Vamos VOX!’

‘The European right is ready to take over Brussels, dismantle the bureaucracy, and join forces across the Atlantic’

Over the weekend the most prominent figures of the European right—including Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders, Matteo Salvini, and, of course, the host Santiago Abascal—delivered the same, unequivocal message: patriots are the future, and the European right is ready to take over Brussels, dismantle the bureaucracy, and join forces across the Atlantic. In short, PfE is ready to Make Europe Great Again.

The summit also hosted Kevin Roberts, president of the American conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, and featured video messages from Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado and Argentina’s president Javier Milei.

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