A gathering of leading right-wing politicians from the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe (PfE) faction presented themselves as a political alternative for the future. The event, hosted by the Spanish party Vox, reportedly drew around 2,000 attendees, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Orbán described the PfE as a “future” in his speech, stating, “Yesterday we were the outcasts, today we are the mainstream.” He also attributed the “ruin of Europe” to the EU’s policies, globalisation and US Democrats, particularly those of former President Joe Biden, whom he claimed had allowed uncontrolled migration.
Herbert Kickl, an Austrian politician from the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), spoke via video conference, saying, “The latest election results have shown that citizens want change, a politics that identifies with and orients itself towards the interests of its own people.”
Kickl, who is in coalition talks with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and may become the next Austrian Chancellor, added, “We see this shift everywhere in Europe.”
Le Pen stated in her speech that since Trump’s re-election, the world and Europe have experienced “the acceleration of history.” The EU, she claimed, is in a state of “disorientation” in the face of the “upheaval.”
Geert Wilders, the leader of the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, described Trump as a “brother in arms” and called for a “reconquest” of Europe, referencing the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim Moors between the 8th and 15th centuries.
The PfE gathering in Madrid took place under the English slogan “Make Europe Great Again” an allusion to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
However, the close ties to Trump may be problematic for the faction, as some of its members have expressed concerns about Trump’s anti-EU rhetoric, such as potential tariffs or the annexation of Greenland, a Danish territory. Jordan Bardella, the leader of Le Pen’s National Rally, stated, “Liking Trump’s patriotism does not mean being a servant of the US.”
Other attendees described their alliance as “transatlantic.” “The Patriots are a transatlantic party, but we are also open. It’s not just a bond with the North – the United States – but also with the South. VOX plays a key role in establishing connections with Milei and Peña” said Jorge Buxadé, a Spanish VOX representative, in an interview with Euronews.
Buxadé emphasized that under the leadership of Santiago Abascal, one of the party’s main goals is to support one another to win elections. “We are no longer just the future – we are the real, immediate future” he declared.
The right-wing PfE faction, established in the European Parliament after the 2024 EU elections, includes Le Pen’s National Rally, Orbán’s Fidesz and other right-wing parties, such as the Italian League of Salvini and the Austrian Freedom Party of Kickl. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is not a member of the PfE, despite ideological similarities and was not represented at the event.