The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a significant gathering of US conservatives, held major events in Poland and Hungary this week, culminating in a pivotal moment ahead of Poland’s presidential election runoff.
The runoff pits CPAC-backed nationalist Karol Nawrocki against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, framed by CPAC speakers as a crucial “battle for Western civilization.”
CPAC’s influence has surged alongside the resurgence of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement within the Republican Party.
Addressing the Budapest conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared it a gathering “not of the defeated, but of those who have endured,” emphasizing a vision of a new Europe in an “Age of Patriots.”
Orban lauded President Trump as a “truth serum,” promoting his nationalist agenda centered on national identity, traditional family values, and a specific interpretation of Christianity.
The conference featured strong criticism of the European Union’s Green Deal, mass immigration, and what speakers termed “gender and woke madness,” met with enthusiastic applause.
The high-energy event, characterized by disco music, vibrant visuals, and celebrity hosts, presented a striking contrast to the more traditional styles of some older politicians in attendance.
Orban voiced concerns about European security, asserting that people “are strangers in their own homes,” characterizing immigration as “population replacement,” a sentiment echoed by other speakers like Alice Weidel (AfD, Germany) and Geert Wilders (Freedom Party, Netherlands).
The movement aims to reshape the European project through a distinct conservative lens, rejecting established EU liberalism.
Notable attendees included Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Austrian Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, Australian ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and former Polish and Czech Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki and Andrej Babis, alongside numerous influential Republicans and South American politicians.
Ram Madhav, a representative from India’s BJP, also participated.
Speakers in both Warsaw and Budapest promoted the idea of “an international nationalist movement, a global platform for anti-globalist forces.”
Rod Dreher, a Budapest-based editor for The American Conservative, noted CPAC Hungary’s “intellectual substance” and its unique role as a networking platform for European nationalist and populist figures.
He highlighted Orban’s success in establishing Budapest as “the intellectual capital of dissident European conservatism,” a label Orban embraces, contrasting his approach with more mainstream European conservatives like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The events in Hungary and Poland suggest a reciprocal relationship, with the Trump administration potentially rewarding the support nationalist leaders provided during his election.
Kristi Noem, Trump’s former Homeland Security chief, emphasized the benefits of electing a leader who would cooperate with President Trump, promising continued US military presence and American-made equipment.
However, she remained silent on the implications of a Nawrocki defeat.
Despite the confidence projected by the European MAGA movement (rebranded as MEGA by Orban), recent setbacks include the election victories of liberal Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan in Romania, and Socialist Edi Rama over MAGA-backed Sali Berisha in Albania. In Austria, Herbert Kickl’s bid for chancellorship also failed.
Even Orban’s position faces challenges, raising questions about the longevity of his message within Hungary.
George Simion, a Romanian nationalist, warned that a Nawrocki loss could foreshadow Orban’s downfall, given Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
Further fissures in the movement’s unity are evident in differing stances on the Ukraine conflict and the notable absence of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Additionally, Hungary’s falling fertility rate, despite government incentives, presents a challenge to Orban’s agenda.
Despite these challenges, a sense of optimism prevailed at the conclusion of the Budapest conference, with attention focused on the outcome of the Polish election.
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