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Brussels police ordered to attend a right wing conference attended by Braverman and Farage

(213 Posts)
Whitewavemark2 Tue 16-Apr-24 14:54:09

Orban is also in attendance.

The police are allowing no one else to enter the premises.

Listening to Farage there is a worrying paper-thin line between his rhetoric and 1930s propaganda.

No wonder the authorities are worried.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 20:01:29

Farage earlier this evening:

“ A new venue was found, but despite best efforts, that option too was closed off. Having one venue cancel I could live with, but two is absolutely outrageous. Yet we hadn’t even reached the lowest point. On arrival at the third venue, the mood was tense and we were told by security that the police were on their way to stop people from entering!”

- as I said upthread - mob handed.

MayBee70 Tue 16-Apr-24 19:54:00

Mamardoit

They are both Conservatives so why shouldn't they be there?

I think that National Conservatism is a worldwide movement that isn’t actually the Conservative Party as we know it.

Mamardoit Tue 16-Apr-24 19:47:59

Maybe they were invited to speak.

Mamardoit Tue 16-Apr-24 19:47:11

They are both Conservatives so why shouldn't they be there?

Cossy Tue 16-Apr-24 19:44:00

Urmstongran

Voltaire: "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

Mayor of Brussels: "I disagree with what you say, and will not allow you or anyone else to say it". Thank God we left.

Yes, we left, so what are Braverman and Farage actually doing over in Brussels?

Cossy Tue 16-Apr-24 19:42:44

Namsnanny

What I dislike is the way everyone dives into their corners to defend their political positions by attacking their opposites.

I agree! Politics is a far dirtier game than ever. I simply want to know what any party can do to keep ours and other countries safe, peaceful and stable and ensuring all have a roof over their heads, access to good wholesome food, education and health.

I’m just not interested in hearing what so and so did and who ruined everything anymore, it’s just irrelevant!

Mamardoit Tue 16-Apr-24 19:41:45

Namsnanny

What I dislike is the way everyone dives into their corners to defend their political positions by attacking their opposites.

That's what political debate entails. What worries me is people demonizing and trying to cancel anyone who doesn't agree with them. Free speech is only allowed when they agree with what's being said.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:37:16

Actually the Mayor of Brussels has given Farage more oxygen and tv coverage by banning the event than it would have garnered otherwise. What an own goal! Back of the net stuff.
⚽️🤣

Chocolatelovinggran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:28:56

Viktor Orban limits press freedom, curtails opposition and has been quoted "Hungarians are not a mixed race and do not wish to be a mixed race".
Freedom of speech is only permitted if it concurs with his world view, in his country, so it might be a little disingenuous of him to attend a meeting and expect people to be allowed to express views at odds with the place in which that event is held.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:22:59

Voltaire: "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

Mayor of Brussels: "I disagree with what you say, and will not allow you or anyone else to say it". Thank God we left.

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 19:20:27

What I dislike is the way everyone dives into their corners to defend their political positions by attacking their opposites.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:13:56

Not a good look for Brussels - and I’m sure tv coverage around the world will reinforce this. And ha! Trump will get to hear of this via Farage. European leaders are being quoted as being aghast at this debacle.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:07:48

Yet - Anyone been down Parliament Square at weekends recently? That’s the reality!

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 19:05:20

Now Belgiums PM has weighed in and condemned the action of Phillipe Close as well.

I firmly believe this is the thin end of the wedge over free speech.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 19:04:46

Mrs Braverman told Sky News: “The thought police instructed by the mayor of Brussels saw fit to try and undermine and denigrate what is free speech and free debate.

“I remember the words of Mrs Thatcher, and I’m going to misquote her, but the more ridiculous and far-fetched and extremist their attempts are to silence us, the more cheered on I am because it just shows that they’ve lost their political argument.

“What really concerns me about what has happened here in Brussels is that, only last year, the mayor of Brussels was happy to host the mayor of Tehran.

“And yet he seems to be pretty offended by democratically elected politicians, people from all over the European continent, who are giving voice to millions of people talking about things like securing our borders.”

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 18:53:29

As I said before Urmstongran, he has acted as if he is a dictator. Not on.

Urmstongran Tue 16-Apr-24 18:51:24

Well I think the Mayor in Brussels has gone in mob handed.

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 18:47:11

Sorry Gsm whom. wink

MaizieD Tue 16-Apr-24 18:45:01

zakouma66

I suppose our own rules must be akin to getting back our sovereignty.

Both equally vacuous soundbites.

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 18:44:22

I really don't get this.

It isn't about which party is better, or who is more odious than who.

It is about having the right to free speech Full.Stop

This Mayor has acted like a dictator.

zakouma66 Tue 16-Apr-24 18:42:54

I suppose our own rules must be akin to getting back our sovereignty.

Mamardoit Tue 16-Apr-24 18:38:51

MayBee70

From Wikipedia ( in case people don’t know what National Conservatism stands for)
National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national, cultural identity, communitarianism, and the public role of religion (see religion in politics). It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conservatism, while departing from economic liberalism and libertarianism, as well as taking a more agnostic approach to regulatory economics and protectionism.[1][2][3][4][5][6] National conservatives usually combine conservatism with nationalist stances, emphasizing cultural conservatism, family values and opposition to illegal immigration or opposition to immigration per se.[5][6][7] National conservative parties often have roots in environments with a rural, traditionalist or peripheral basis, contrasting with the more urban support base of liberal conservative parties.[8]
In Europe, they usually embrace some form of Euroscepticism.[9][10] In post-communist central and eastern Europe specifically, most conservative parties since 1989 have followed a national conservative ideology.[11] Most notable is the government of Viktor Orbán in Hungary, who has explicitly described his party's ideology as being national conservative in character, and whose government is involved in the funding and spread of national conservative institutions across Europe and the United States, such as the Danube Institute, Mathias Corvinus Collegium, European Conservative magazine, and National Conservatism Conference.[12][13][14][15] In the United States, Trumpism can be considered a variety of national conservatism,[16][17][18] which also gives its name to the National Conservatism Conference, organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation.[19]
National conservatism was recently re-launched by Israeli-American political philosopher and Biblical scholar Yoram Hazony, with his 2022 book Conservatism: A Rediscovery.[20][21][22] Hazony has written that "In the political arena, conservatism refers to a standpoint that regards the recovery, restoration, elaboration, and repair of national and religious traditions as the key to maintaining a nation and strengthening it through time."[1]
Ideology
Social policies
Ideologically, national conservatism is not a uniform philosophy but adherents have broadly expressed support for nationalism, patriotism, assimilationism and monoculturalism. At the same time there is expressed opposition to internationalism, racial politics, multiculturalism and globalism.[23][24][25] National conservatives adhere to a form of cultural nationalism that emphasizes the preservation of national identity as well as cultural identity. As a result, many favor assimilation into the dominant culture, restrictions on immigration and strict law and order policies.[6][9][5]
National conservative parties are "socially traditional"[9] and support traditional family values, gender roles and the public role of religion,[5][26] being sometimes critical of separation of church and state. According to the Austrian political scientist Sieglinde Rosenberger, "national conservatism praises the family as a home and a center of identity, solidarity, and tradition".[26] National conservatives are thus social conservatives.
Economic policies
National conservative parties in different countries do not necessarily share a common position on economic policy. Their views may range from support of corporatism and mixed economy to a more laissez-faire approach. In the first, more common case, national conservatives can be distinguished from liberal conservatives,[27] for whom free market economic policies, deregulation and tight spending are the main priorities. Some commentators have indeed identified a growing gap between national and economic liberal conservatism: "Most parties of the Right [today] are run by economically liberal conservatives who, in varying degrees, have marginalised social, cultural and national conservatives."[27]
Foreign policy
National conservatives usually support a foreign policy that upholds the interests of their nation. They lean towards militarism, unilateralism and isolationism. They reject the internationalism and multilateralism that has characterized the modern global age.[28][29] They often have a negative view of the United Nations, feeling that its globalist agenda erodes their unique national identity,[28][29] as well as the European Union and other international organizations.[16]
Regionalist varieties
Main article: Regionalism (politics)
Regional parties can be nationalist or national-conservative, without aligning with the country to which the region belongs. South Tyrol is a notable example, as "national-conservative" parties there represent its German-speaking majority and identify with neighbouring Austria, with which South Tyrol shares.

And the goings on today have given them more publicity than they could have dreamed of.

It was a perfectly peaceful meeting. It should have been a non event. The footage will be shown around the globe.

MaizieD Tue 16-Apr-24 18:36:34

zakouma66

What does " our country having its own rules" mean?

I think it means leaving the WTO, NATO, the UN, the ECHR, of course, and any other international organisation that might have 'rules', arrived at by consensus but which the NatCons don't like.

Namsnanny Tue 16-Apr-24 18:33:43

Skydancer

I never know what wing I am. I favour the Green Party but agree with lots that Nigel Farage says. So how do I vote!

Labels are being banded around willynilly nads. Frankly I like individual members of all the parties, so that leaves me in a quandary too smile

zakouma66 Tue 16-Apr-24 18:32:21

Skydancer

I never know what wing I am. I favour the Green Party but agree with lots that Nigel Farage says. So how do I vote!

Like what?