Authorities in Brussels attempted to shut down the National Conservatism (NatCon) Conference, which began this morning and was set to feature speeches by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Nigel Farage, honorary president of the British Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party), as reported by POLITICO. The conference, held at the Claridge venue in Brussels, had been underway for two hours when law enforcement officials arrived and informed the organizers that the event was being terminated. Nigel Farage’s keynote speech was about to commence when the authorities appeared.
According to our correspondent Meg Hansen, the police implemented a gradual shutdown approach for the remainder of the conference. This meant that participants could remain inside, but once they exited, re-entry was prohibited. Those who did not arrive at the conference before the police blockade was lifted were unable to enter. This was the situation for Éric Zemmour, leader of the French right-wing Reconquête party, who was slated to be one of the keynote speakers.
The latest update indicates, that participants will be hosted for dinner by Claridge’s, which was initially intended to be a VIP dinner only. The conference will continue tomorrow, and individuals wishing to attend must arrive no later than 10 am.
According to POLITICO’s previous information, one police officer informed organizers that the event had to be halted due to concerns about potential public disorder. However,
the situation goes beyond mere security concerns.
Left-wing activists, led by the Socialist mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, have been actively working for days to obstruct the conference. Claridge’s marks the third venue change since the initial choice, Concert Noble, backed out in the last minute under pressure by Close. The second venue, luxury Sofitel hotel came under pressure by the liberal mayor of Etterbeek. Emir Kir, the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, the Brussels district where Claridge is located, previously stated to POLITICO via email that he would ‘immediately take measures to ban’ the event.
‘It’s really something out of a tinpot dictatorship,’ Frank Füredi, Executive Director of MCC Brussels—the co-organizer of NatCon—told POLITICO. ‘They’re trying to use a technical reason to make a political point. They told the owner that if it doesn’t get shut down they’re going to cut the electricity,’ he added.
American conservative writer and editor Rod Dreher expressed in a brief interview with the Hungarian Conservative that he never imagined encountering such a situation. ‘Everyone here is democratic. And yet that's not enough for Brussels, the mayor of Brussels and the local politicians who are collaborating with Antifa to shut down speeches they don't like,’ he remarked. Dreher pointed out that the left seeks to silence anyone who holds differing views.
Hungarian PM Orbán also commented the unusual crackdown of the Brussels police.
‘The Belgian police decided to shut down the @NatConTalk conference in #Brussels, just two hours after it started. I guess they couldn’t take free speech any longer. The last time they wanted to silence me with the police was when the Communists set them on me in ‘88. We didn’t give up then and we will not give up this time either!’
Balázs Orbán, the political director of the Hungarian Prime Minister, also shared a post on X about the conference. ‘According to the #Brussels Left, we’re doing a radical thing: we’re exchanging ideas and having conversations. According to us, this is what #freespeech is all about.’
Certainly, the liberal progressive media did not refrain from joining the campaign against NatCon. Last week, POLITICO simply referred to the event as the ‘Orbán Conference.’ Additionally, a British media outlet accused Nigel Farage of 'Orbánizing' British politics. Furthermore, the Labour Party called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to prevent former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman—also scheduled as a keynote speaker at the conference—from ‘giving oxygen to divisive and dangerous individuals,’ such as Orbán, and ‘legitimising fringe far-right elements that threaten our cohesion and democracy.’
Yoram Hazony, chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, a conservative US-based think tank and the main organizer of the event, denounced the Brussels regime for touting a big game about spreading democracy abroad, while clamping down on conservative voices at home. ‘If Brussels can’t host both sides of the argument,’ he concluded, ‘then maybe the capital of Europe can’t be in Brussels.’
The theme of this year’s conference revolves around the preservation of nation-states in Europe, a topic of utmost relevance given the impending European Parliament elections. The June elections will determine whether the EU governance can shift towards the right, establishing a right-wing, nation-state-oriented presence in the EP. This shift aims to replace the prevailing globalist, left-wing majority with a more pragmatic approach to cooperation rather than ideology. Given the recent surge of right-wing parties across Europe, it comes as no surprise that the
left is exerting considerable efforts to suppress dissent.
Since it was first organized in 2019, the NatCon Conference has gained an international reputation for bringing together key public figures, scholars, journalists, and other thought leaders of the right from the United States and Europe.
