Orbán claims rising right-wing movement as CPAC event kicks off in Budapest
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasised a significant right-wing realignment during the CPAC event, highlighting Hungary’s role as a bastion against progressive forces.
Hungarian government asserts that CPAC amplifies international right-wing alignment, asserting their role as Europe’s “bastion of national conservative forces.”
The Patriots for Europe political group will hold a grand assembly in Budapest on Monday to express support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Briefing summary
The CPAC event in Budapest highlighted a notable association between prominent US and Hungarian political figures, although key US leaders distanced themselves from the gathering.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated the global right-wing realignment is centred in the US, labelling Hungary as Europe’s bastion against progressive forces.
Several far-right leaders, including Geert Wilders and Alice Weidel, attended the conference, underscoring the coalition’s commitment to opposing progressive policies across Europe.
Orbán vouches to ‘break down the gates of the progressives in Brussels‘ if he wins elections
The event has traditionally served to build links between US President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s political backbench, but the leading figures from US politics have largely kept their distance.
The Patriots for Europe political group are also holding a grand assembly in Budapest on Monday to express support for Orbán.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was set to open the CPAC event, but had to return to Prague because of a suspected arson attack at a weapons factory producing drones for Ukraine.
The most prominent figure on the guest list is Javier Milei, Argentina’s libertarian-populist president.
“You have to understand, he keeps on winning, something that we all share in common, we want to win. But we want to win fairly, evenly, but decisively,” the US president said.
Vice President JD Vance did not travel to Hungary either.
Orbán: ‘Trump’s victory has made the world a better place’.
“Gender and woke have receded, Christianity can be proudly embraced, (…) progressive censorship is over. Without retaliation, we can say we don’t want migration. The green frenzy has been curbed, the created world can only be preserved in accordance with economic interests”.
According to Orbán, a major right-wing realignment is underway globally, with “the epicentre in the United States, and Hungary as the outpost of Europe”.
“We have realised that if we want to defeat the progressive globalists, we must also think in an international framework,” he added.
The Hungarian prime minister added that the goal of the progressive left, is to keep the so-called patriotic forces—which are typically far-right, but sometimes left-wing or liberal nationalist and populist parties—out of power.
“We are in a domestic, but difficult terrain,” the Hungarian prime minister said. “A domestic terrain, because Hungary has been the strongest bastion of national conservative forces in the European Union for 16 years. And a difficult terrain, because the greatest victory for progressives would be to bring down this bastion”.
“My friends, the stakes are higher than ever: if we win here, we will not only defend Hungary, but we will also break down the progressives’ gate in Brussels. We will win this election and then we will not stop, we will move forward,” Orbán added.
Other CPAC Hungary keynote speakers include Dutch far-right Geert Wilders, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel and Austria’s far-right Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl.