Leaders of the parties of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, including Viktor Orbán and Marine Le Pen, are gathering in Madrid today, February 7th, for a major rally tomorrow whose aim, among others, is to signal that they are ready to establish a strong partnership with U.S. president Donald Trump.
The rally’s slogan is ‘Make Europe Great Again,’ which was the official slogan of the recent Hungarian EU presidency, modelled on Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ motto.
The Patriots for Europe group is the third largest in the European Parliament, consisting of 86 MEPs from parties such as, Le Pen’s National Rally, Hungarian PM Orbán’s Fidesz, Spain’s VOX, Italian deputy PM Matteo Salvini’s Lega, Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom, former Czech PM Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement, the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), and the Belgian Vlaams Belang party.
The intent of the PfE group, established after the European elections last year, is to challenge the status quo in the EU and the establishment parties who have presided over harmful left-wing policies that have gradually shifted the European Union towards centralisation, taking away the competencies of sovereign nation-states.
The Patriots have already attempted to take steps to bring down the Green Deal with its radical climate policies, and to protect the EU’s borders by halting illegal migration—measures that the establishment centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) has failed to deliver.
As Viktor Orbán recently said, the European Union is “the sick man of Europe today,” unable to guarantee peace, security, and prosperity for its citizens, while struggling with illegal migration. However, the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House brings a new dawn, and a “grand offensive can now begin” by patriotic forces in Europe to “occupy Brussels.”
Similar statements were made by Andrej Babiš, who said the Patriots were Trump’s natural allies in Europe, and that the group is confident that Trump would deliver on his promises, especially ending the war in Ukraine.
The rally on Saturday, February 8th—which will be held in front of 2,000 supporters—will likely address this cooperation. The speakers also intend to share “their ideas for an ambitious European cooperation respecting the sovereignty of each member state,” according to a press release.
Speakers will include Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orbán, Matteo Salvini, Geert Wilders, Andrej Babiš, and Santiago Abascal, the leader of VOX.
Europeanconservative.com will also be at the rally to give a first-hand account of the event.
VOX spokesman José Antonio Fúster told reporters that the party leaders will outline their strategy for the coming months during the Madrid summit. He said PfE “represents millions of Europeans who want common sense to return to European institutions, so that they serve Europeans and work for a strong, prosperous, safe Europe that conserves its identity.” He described the patriotic party family as “an alternative to the coalition of the European People’s Party and the Socialists in Brussels, to their climate change fanaticism and to their policies of open doors to mass immigration.”
Patriotic-sovereignist parties in Europe are on an upward trajectory: Fidesz won the European elections in Hungary; the Dutch Party for Freedom formed a coalition government last year, the National Rally is the most popular party in France; the Czech ANO movement is set to secure first place in the parliamentary elections this autumn; and the Austrian FPÖ is currently in talks to form a government with the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP). FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl will in fact be missing from the rally, as he is currently busy trying to come to an agreement with the ÖVP. As we reported, the talks have hit a snag, due to a disagreement on the distribution of portfolios, but the negotiations will continue as neither of the two parties wants to be blamed for the breakdown of talks and for a potential repeat of the elections.
