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Leaders of far-right parties in the European Parliament\u2019s third-largest voting bloc, Patriots for Europe, praised Donald Trump\u2019s return to power at a gathering in Madrid on Saturday held under the slogan \u201cMake Europe Great Again\u201d.<\/p>\n
The event featured Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian deputy premier Matteo Salvini, as well as the leaders of France\u2019s National Rally (RN), Marine Le Pen, the Netherlands\u2019 PVV party, Geert Wilders and Greece\u2019s Voice of Reason, Afroditi Latinopoulou.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump tornado has changed the world in just a few weeks \u2026 yesterday we were heretics, today we\u2019re mainstream,\u201d Orban told around 2,000 supporters, most of whom waved Spanish flags.<\/p>\n
Latinopoulou also spoke at the summit, criticizing the EU\u2019s leadership on energy policies, taxation and immigration. She called for a Europe that defends its borders, traditions and Christian values, saying, \u201cWe need a Europe that will respect its identity, support its families, and honor its roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the speakers railed against immigration and most called for a new \u201cReconquista\u201d, a reference to the Medieval re-conquest of Muslim-controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian kingdoms.<\/p>\n
Earlier, former Estonian Finance Minister Martin Helme kicked off the rally following a video message by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. His speech excoriating what he called \u201cleftists\u201d was interrupted by a topless activist from feminist group Femen chanting \u201cNot one step back against fascism\u201d in Spanish before she was ejected.<\/p>\n
Other themes included frequent right-wing targets such as \u201cwokism\u201d \u2013 a term used pejoratively by some to describe left-leaning political views on race, gender and sexuality \u2013 migrant rescue NGOs, European Commission\u2019s Ursula von der Leyen and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose names were met with loud jeers.<\/p>\n
Patriots was formed after the May 2024 European election and consists of 86 MEPs from 14 countries, representing a combined 19 million votes. Madrid was chosen as venue for their first official summit so that Patriots\u2019 president Santiago Abascal, who leads Spain\u2019s Vox party, could host.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s ruling Socialist Party said in a statement it rejected what it described as a \u201ccoven of ultras\u201d, adding: \u201cThey won\u2019t succeed in making their black-and-white world view prevail in this country\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vox has steadily gained ground in several polls over the past months. According to the Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS), it garners the strongest support among young men, members of the military and law enforcement.<\/p>\n
Despite Patriots\u2019 stated goal of unifying Europe\u2019s nationalist conservatives, some of the EU\u2019s most influential parties in that camp \u2013 such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni\u2019s Brothers of Italy, Alternative for Germany and Poland\u2019s Law and Justice \u2013 have refused to join. [Reuters\/Nafteboriki]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n