A conservative conference set to host major figures from across the political Right has begun, despite attempts to cancel the event by Brussels mayors.
The National Conservatism conference, which includes speakers such as Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and hard-right French MP Eric Zemmour, had to relocate twice after mayors within the Brussels region refused the meeting’s chosen venues.
Organisers managed to find a third venue overnight, a hall situated a few minutes from a major European Commission building that is often used to host weddings.
Welcome to #NatConBrussels2 pic.twitter.com/0KENvOB10m
— National Conservatism (@NatConTalk) April 16, 2024
Addressing the conference on the morning of April 16, conference chairman Yoram Hazony expressed dismay at the cancellation attempts spearheaded by left-wing Brussels officials, describing it as an erosion of democracy.
“We’re asking for decency. We’re asking for democracy. We’re asking to uphold the inheritance of our forefathers and foremothers,” he said.
“It’s not that much to ask,” he added, decrying the “insanity of what is beginning to pass as democracy” in Europe and the West.
While taking place at the beginning of the conference, Hazony’s speech marks the end of a running battle between the event’s organisers and left-wing activists who have numerous times tried to get the event cancelled completely.
@NatConTalk conference underway despite numerous attempts by Brussels officials to have the event cancelled. @yhazony pleading for traditional democratic values instead of the current "insanity" of cancelling your political rivals.
Full story on @brusselssignal imminently: pic.twitter.com/sTcnOwpRSq
— Peter Caddle (@peter_caddle) April 16, 2024
Since the first venue for the event was announced, members of so-called “anti-fascist” groups have written to businesses contracted to host the event to ask for them to cancel, often citing nebulous claims that the organisers want to hurt liberal democracy.
More substantial pressure has also come from the political leadership of Brussels itself, with the Socialist mayors of the Brussels central region and Etterbeek both successfully pushing two separate venues into being revoked.
Etterbeek Mayor Vincent de Wolf, who is a member of the centre-right Belgian MR party, openly bragged to The Brussels Times about getting the event pulled for the second time, with the left-wing official claiming that he was the one who got that venue, Sofitel, to pull out.
“I was warned by the press about the nature of the event and the people who were coming,” de Wolf said late last on April 15.
“I informed the local police authorities, who contacted Sofitel and the management decided to cancel the event.”
Brussels’ Socialist Party mayor, Philippe Close, reportedly put pressure on the venue due to host next week’s National Conservatism conference, leading it to pull out and forcing the organisers to find a last-minute alternative.
More details ⬇️ https://t.co/gfBwczMcZE
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 13, 2024
