An opinion piece by Frank Füredi, Executive Director of MCC Brussels, was published by POLITICO Brussels. It is unusual, as opinions that differ from the progressive mainstream rarely appear on the portal, which is the mouthpiece of the left. However, Emir Kir, the Mayor of Brussels’s Saint-Joone district, made a decision earlier this week that has drawn significant attention. His choice to employ police force in an attempt to shut down the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) appears to have had a far-reaching impact beyond what the mayor anticipated.

In the article, Frank Füredi recounts the challenging process of organizing the conference, which was fraught with unexpected obstacles. He describes how the venue had to be changed twice due to political pressure, with both the originally planned location and the subsequent alternative venue cancelled. Füredi highlights a particular incident involving the director of the original venue, Concert Noble, who explained that the socialist Mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, declined to provide police protection for a planned far-left Antifa demonstration during the event. This refusal led to the decision not to host the conference at Concert Noble—a decision that, from the director’s perspective, is entirely understandable.

‘I observed that obviously the issue of security served as a pretext for cancelling our event, with the language of safety masking what was ultimately a political decision. The director smiled and nodded in agreement,’ Füredi pointed out.

The purely political motivation behind the actions became increasingly evident,

continued the executive director of MCC Brussels, one of the conference’s co-organizers. ‘I was warned by the press about the nature of the event and the people who were coming. I informed the local police authorities, who contacted Sofitel (the backup venue – ed.) and the management decided to cancel the event,’ Frank Füredi quotes district mayor Vincent De Wolff.

‘In other words, the mayor shamelessly boasted that a meeting attended by elected MEPs, prime ministers and leading officials who held “the wrong views” could be casually cancelled.’

Frank Füredi then recalls the absolutely surreal events of the opening day of the conference.

‘The police were sent to the venue armed with a court order, threatening everyone in attendance with dire consequences. Suddenly, as police entered the premises, it felt as if we were in an Orwellian nightmare. They only left because news cameras were rolling, and it was evident to anyone watching that the conference was a civilized and serious intellectual event.’

After all, there is one man in Brussels who takes free speech seriously – the owner of Claridge, who, despite all the threats, told the mayor that the conference would go ahead.

According to Frank Füredi, following the events of this week, it has become apparent that the political establishment in Brussels is firmly supporting the ‘illiberal behaviour’ exhibited by the three mayors. ‘My experience shows that Brussels has become a tolerance-free zone, where local politicians are behaving like tin-pot dictators despite the fact that the Belgian constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly.’

The executive director of MCC Brussels highlighted that this blatant violation of the freedom of assembly has ‘embarrassed even some of our opponents.’ ‘British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak felt obliged to condemn the attempts to cancel the conference, after which Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo posted a statement denouncing efforts to shut down the discussion at Claridge.

However, amidst the negatives, there are also positives. According to certain participants at the conference, the censorious behaviour of the mayors validates the right’s longstanding assertion that

‘the Brussels Bubble has become illiberal and intolerant.’

However, Frank Füredi holds a different perspective. ‘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.’

‘All who love liberty, all who believe in freedom of assembly and free speech, stand up to be counted,’ Mr. Füredi concluded.

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