Police Bar Entry to Conservatism Conference
Keynote speaker of the National Conservatism Conference, Nigel Farage gives his speech while police bar anyone from entering the event. (flickr).
Police ordered the right-wing National Conservatism Conference held in Brussels to shut down due to public order risks on April 16. Backlash has since emerged from right-wing politicians throughout the EU.
The National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) is a two-day conference consisting of right-wing political leaders from across the European Union, according to BBC. The event, focused on global conservative and traditional values, was scheduled for April 16 and April 27 and was hosted by the U.S. conservative think tank the Edmund Burke Foundation. France24 reports that speeches included topics such as transgender rights, the EU "superstate," the EU’s new migrant and asylum rules, the European Court of Human Rights, and multiculturalism.
The schedule included speakers like April 16’s keynote speaker Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UKIP party and pro-Brexit campaigner. On Wednesday, the event will host Viktor Orbán, the current Prime Minister of Hungary and head of the far-right Fidesz party, according to the DW. Other major speakers scheduled for the event included former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki from the Law and Justice party and conservative German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Müller. AP News writes that this year’s NatCon’s theme was “National Conservatism, Preserving the Nation-State in Europe.”
Three hours after the event began on Tuesday morning, police arrived at the Claridge Hotel and ordered the event to be shut down, states Politico. Police then blocked the entrance from being used, even for panelists like the far-right former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who was scheduled to speak later that day. The Telegraph writes that Zemmor gave his speech outside the hotel after being denied entry. The event was allowed to continue inside, but police continued to bar newcomers for the rest of the day.
The Claridge Hotel is the third venue the NatCon has been scheduled at, reports France24. The previous venues both pulled their support after receiving pressure from anti-fascist groups. Organizers are searching for a new venue for April 27 due to the unlikelihood of the ban lifting in time through the courts, according to Politico.
Emir Kir, the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, where the Claridge is located, issued the order to ban the event, according to BBC. Kir cited the potential for protests of the event, and hoped to ensure public safety. About 50 protesters ultimately demonstrated in front of NatCon many hours after the events with the police, says AP News. The Telegram writes that the order also mentioned that the speeches made at the event had the potential to be homophobic and offend minorities. Kir went on X to state that “the far right is not welcome.”
The police intervention in NatCon on Tuesday sparked backlash from many leaders across Europe. According to BBC, Belgian PM Alexander De Croo posted on X that “banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop.” UK PM Rishi Sunak called the banning “extremely disturbing” and that "canceling events or preventing attendance and no-platforming speakers is damaging to free speech and to democracy as a result." The DW writes that Farage, the event’s keynote speaker, called the ban “monstrous” and that it “is the complete old Communist style where if you don't agree with me, you've got to be banned, you've got to be shut down." The owner of Claridge Hotel, Ben Yaghlane, defended the rights of the speakers at NatCon to speak and pushed back on the mayor’s decision to try to stop the event even though he did not agree with the policies they support, writes Politico.
According to BBC, Orbán proclaimed on X that “Brussels just moved up a gear. If anyone stands up for peace, they are simply banned. No question, on June 9 we have to say clearly: No War!" The upcoming European Parliament elections will run from June 6-9. The timing of this year’s NatCon and the election explains the high tensions. Many of the mainstream parties are afraid of the sway the far-right parties participating in the event will hold over voters in the elections, reports AP News. While surveys show the mainstream parties keeping power in the future parliament, they are likely to lose seats to far-right parties in the election.