'Like the old Soviet Union': Socialist shutdown of National Conservatism event featuring Orbán and Farage backfires

Police stormed the National Conservatism conference in Brussels Tuesday and barricaded the doors on the orders of a leftist mayor. The clampdown was demanded and celebrated by Antifa and other extremists who sought to make clear to the world leaders, lawmakers, and intellectuals inside that they were not welcome to openly discuss the conservation of their respective nation-states.

The shutdown backfired greatly, not only confirming attendees' suspicions that leftists are animated by totalitarian energies and that post-national liberals will become increasingly authoritarian as their influence wanes, but causing a significant international stir.

In the face of immense backlash over the socialist clampdown on free speech, Belgium's supreme administrative court and the Belgian prime minister intervened in the conservatives' favor.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo noted on X, "What happened at the Claridge today is unacceptable. Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop."

Meanwhile, foreign leaders — including the British and Italian prime ministers — and multitudes of critics worldwide blasted the attempt to thwart the efforts of patriots to prevent their respective nations from becoming pseudo-states like Belgium.

Times of London columnist Melanie Phillips, who took the stage upon the defiant resumption of the event Wednesday, summarized the scandal thusly: "I feel a bit of history has been made here in the last day or so. What's happened here at this conference is that this process of silencing us has been dramatized in such a spectacular fashion that even the Belgian prime minister has denounced it along with [Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak in Britain, various German politicians, and a chorus of condemnation condemnation across the board and across continents."

"Talk about an own-goal," continued Phillips. "At a stroke, ideological enemies have shown that it is in fact the left that is intolerant and oppressive and a threat to democracy and a dictatorial risk to freedom and national cosnervativism is now the resistance."

Background

The NatCon conference is a project of the Edmund Burke Foundation and is chaired by Israeli-American philosopher Yoram Hazony.

The project defines "National Conservatism" as "a movement of public figures, journalists, scholars, and students who understand that the past and future of conservatism are inextricably tied to the idea of the nation, to the principle of national independence, and to the revival of the unique national traditions that alone have the power to bind a people together and bring about their flourishing."

Past conferences have taken place across what was once regarded as the free world, in cities such as Orlando, Washington, D.C., London, and Rome. Past guests and speakers included Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.); Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; elements of Blaze Media; and a host of international leaders of various political stripes.

This year, the conference — which counts former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Brexiteer Nigel Farage, and French politician Eric Zemmour among its speakers — had difficulty finding a venue in Brussels hosted by someone with the requisite intestinal fortitude to support free speech.

Politico reported that the conference, this year focused on the theme of "Preserving the Nation-State in Europe," initially secured the Concert Noble, but the host venue pulled out just days ahead of the conference.

Frank Füredi, the executive director of MCC Brussels, the think tank helping organize the event, said, "What has happened in these last few days represents nothing less than a crisis for free speech and political expression for all of Europe."

According to the Brussels Times, communists and other radicals pressured the venue to axe the event to preclude people from discussing and hearing about the fallout of mass migration, climate alarmism, LGBT imperialism, and the erosion of the nation-state.

Another venue caved to leftist pressure, canceling the conference's booking just 20 hours before the event was set to begin, prompting organizers to accuse Brussels' socialist mayor, Philippe Close, of trying to cancel the event for ideological reasons.

Neighboring municipalities also made clear that the conference would not be welcome.

The NatCon conference ultimately found a venue in the Claridge events hall reportedly run by a Tunisian man "who believes in free speech and who did not surrender to the tremendous political pressure to cancel a conservative conference."

Extra to receiving a standing ovation Wednesday, the host was personally thanked by Orbán.

Farage similarly lauded the Tunisian for standing up to the "bullyboys."

The socialist reflex

While the conference overcame the initial cancellation efforts, it still had to deal with the local authorities.

Emir Kir, the socialist mayor of the Brussels suburb Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, announced Tuesday morning that he had "issued an order from the Mayor to ban the 'National Conservatism Conference' event to guarantee public safety. In Etterbeek, Brussels City and Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome."

Kir previously indicated he would "immediately take measures to ban" the event.

Police dutifully stormed the event and sealed the entrances, ensuring attendees could not enter.

Politico indicated that police informed organizers the event was being shut down hours before Nigel Farage's keynote speech.

"It's really something out of a tin-pot dictatorship" Füredi 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 gonna cut the electricity."

Farage noted that the socialist mayor's efforts to shut down conservative speech and appease the leftist mob were "like the old Soviet union. No alternative view allowed."

A second wave of officers came by at 12:45 p.m. to hand Anthony Gilland, the event's local organizer, the official shutdown order.

"One of the reasons that we've been given, it's not the only reason, is that there will be a counterprotest this afternoon around about 5 p.m. and the idea is that the police are not able to protect free speech at this event," said Gilland.

An apparent English translation of the shutdown order claims the the event "is likely to cause a serious disturbance of the public peace due to its provocative and discriminatory nature" and that some of the attendees "are reputed to be traditionalists, homophobes, and disrespectful of human rights and minorities; we can also cite an author of controversial works on political Islam."

Hazony announced the event would be "gradually" wound down Tuesday.

The backlash and conservative triumph

Orbán said in a statement, "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!"

The Guardian reported that Farage told those gathered outside the venue, "I've experienced cancel culture personally here … but what has happened in there on the stage with global media, we can see that legally held opinions from people who are going to win national elections is not longer acceptable here in Brussels, the home of globalism."

"This 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," added Farage, who was de-banked last year over his political views.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the shutdown, saying, "What is happening in Brussels leaves us in disbelief and dismay. The mayor of one of the Belgian capital's municipalities has banned a conference, which is scheduled to be attended by heads of government, national and European parliamentarians."

"Following the order, police physically prevented guests and speakers from entering the conference," continued Meloni. "I immediately asked Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium to follow up on what was happening, and I thank him for his timely and clear stance against the hateful oppression of freedom of expression taking place in Brussels."

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, "Speaking more broadly to the principle of such events, he is very clear that canceling events or preventing attendance and no-platforming speakers is damaging to free speech and to democracy as a result."

British parliamentarian and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman tweeted, "It's laughable that the Brussels thought police were sent out to shut down a conference of democratically elected politicians representing the views of millions of people. They clearly didn't want to hear about how we can secure our borders & protect our citizens."

Proponents of the conference challenged the mayoral order with the help of the Christian advocacy group ADF International. Belgium's supreme administrative court said in an emergency session Tuesday that the conference could resume.

ADF International executive director Paul Coleman said in a statement, "While common sense and justice have prevailed, what happened yesterday is a dark mark on European democracy. No official should have the power to shut down free and peaceful assembly merely because he disagrees with what is being said."

Farage posted a video Wednesday morning wherein he gleefully noted he was on his way to the conference.

"It's still happening!" said Farage, who elsewhere penned an editorial suggesting the scandalous shutdown proved Brexit was a good call for Britons. "The local mayor has had his comeuppance. It's going to be a full house, a load of fun. It's a victory for free speech."

Nigel Farage | Return of the Nation State | NatCon Brussels 2youtu.be

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