Originally published in French at https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2024/05/22/prendre-leurope-par-lelection-lextreme-droite-mondiale-a-madrid/
From Milei to Orbán, including Meloni and Le Pen; from Portugal’s Ventura to Trump’s America: the international far-right convened in Madrid this weekend in an impressive gathering. On the eve of a continental election expected to see them make gains, the European radical right is undergoing profound reconfiguration—listening to these speeches is essential to understand their strategy, convergences, and roadblocks. Selected and commented highlights from the Vistalegre meeting are made by specialist Steven Forti.
On May 18 and 19, Madrid hosted the Europa Viva 24 congress. The event, organized by Vox and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), brought together a large representation of European and American far-right leaders at the Vistalegre Palace in the Spanish capital. In addition to Vox leader Santiago Abascal, who hosted the meeting, and his supporters José Antonio Ortega Lara and Jorge Buxadé, other leaders from the ECR group, such as former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, participated in this significant gathering.
However, Viva 24 also welcomed members of the other far-right political group in the European Parliament, Identity and Democracy (ID), such as the leader of Portugal’s Chega, André Ventura, and the president of France’s National Rally, Marine Le Pen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has transformed Hungary into an electoral autocracy since his return to power in 2010, was also connected via video, as was Giorgia Meloni.
The extra-European representation was also a notable feature of this event: on one hand, through the presence of Argentine President Javier Milei and the leader of the Chilean Republican Party, José Antonio Kast; on the other hand, through various representatives of Trumpism such as the president of the American Conservative Union and leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Matt Schlapp, and the vice president of the Heritage Foundation, Roger Severino. Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, also attended the meeting.
The Madrid meeting not only followed in the footsteps of previous meetings organized by Vox, such as Viva 21 and Viva 22, which had already seen participation from international leaders like Ventura, Meloni, and Morawiecki, but also fits into the context of numerous summits organized by the far-right across the Atlantic: from various editions of CPAC in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, or Hungary, to the Iberosphere Summits launched by Vox in 2022 after the creation of the Madrid Forum, and the “Defend Europe” meetings held in Warsaw in 2021 and Madrid in 2022. Europa Viva 24 once again demonstrates the existence of a dense transnational far-right network that has strengthened in recent years.
Moreover, this event was intended to mark the launch of the campaign for the European elections to be held from June 6 to 9. As the election approaches, the far right wants to show that it is in a position of strength: according to all polls, it is expected to perform quite well and could change the political balance within the Union.
In 2019, the main far-right electoral rally was held in Milan, with League leader Matteo Salvini as the host and strongman. This year, Spain hosted the main far-right event. This demonstrates at least two things. First, the growing importance of Vox in the geography of the European and transatlantic far-right—the party has gradually become the bridgehead between the Union and Latin America. Second, the far right’s obsession with the left-wing government led by Pedro Sánchez—the new public enemy number one in an increasingly far-right Europe.
André Ventura (Portugal)
Dear friends of Vox, I am extremely proud to be here today. This convention is not just a school for leaders, presidents, and personalities. Many of those who have come here, to this stage, have won in their countries—they have won the freedom of their countries. I am sure that here, among us, are many who will govern in the future in Europe, America, and South America. I see here the next president of the Spanish government, Santiago Abascal; the next president of France, Marine Le Pen; and, if you allow me, the next prime minister of Portugal.
Until recently, André Ventura was a little-known leader outside the borders of Portugal. However, in last March’s legislative elections, his party, Chega, won nearly 20% of the vote. This has made Ventura a rising leader. In his speech, two points deserve to be highlighted. On the one hand, the desire—shared by all far-right leaders—to present themselves as moderate and presentable, rejecting the label of radical and extremist. On the other hand, the attempt to reclaim the concept of freedom at the European and global level.
Today, in Portugal, but also in Spain and, I am sure, throughout Europe, the newspapers say that the most radical right is meeting here in Madrid. They are wrong. We are not the most radical right in Europe, we are the only ones—the only ones!—who have stood up to defend the freedom of Europe and the freedom of the whole world!
We are not the most radical right in Europe, we are the only ones—the only ones!—who have stood up to defend the freedom of Europe and the freedom of the whole world!
Jorge Buxadé (Spain)
On June 9, the future of Spain and all of Europe is at stake.
Next June 9, we will decide whether Europe will remain in the hands of globalist fanatics who seek the destruction of the countryside, the devastation of the middle classes, the failure of borders, and the submission of Europe to the whims of a bureaucratic caste of UN rapporteurs; or whether, on the contrary, European nations will take back control of their lives, their economy, and their freedom.
Head of Vox’s list for the European elections, Buxadé has been the main driving force behind the party’s anti-globalist turn, embodied by the España Agenda. This programmatic document, presented at Viva 21, was conceived as an ultra-nationalist and identitarian response to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, presented as one of Spain’s main “enemies” and a threat to the sovereignty of nations. The Vox MEP, with a phalangist past before joining the Partido Popular for a decade, is also often criticized for introducing timid and abstract social policies that have partially moderated Vox’s ultra-liberal economic program in its early days. However, it is difficult to understand how the supposedly neo-phalangist social policies defended by Buxadé could fit into a paleo-libertarian program of state destruction like that advocated by the guest star of the May 18 and 19 rally: Javier Milei.
Spaniards, Italians, Poles, the French, or Hungarians do not care at all about the artificial creation of a European people. What concerns them, on the contrary, is the security in the streets, the creation of stable jobs, the inflation of basic products, access to housing, the competitiveness of our companies against foreign competition, illegal immigration, the prevention of the collapse of our health systems, or the future of our youth!
Next June 9, we will decide whether Europe remains in the hands of globalist fanatics who seek the destruction of the countryside, the devastation of the middle classes, the failure of borders, and the submission of Europe to the whims of a bureaucratic caste of UN rapporteurs.
Giorgia Meloni (Italy)
In recent years, the European Union has demanded to decide what we could or could not eat, how we should or should not renovate our homes—of course without telling us with what money—what car we could or could not drive, what technologies we could or could not use in our businesses.
They have used the alibi of nature protection to allow an infringement on our freedom that we must reject. We will defend our farmers, our fishermen, our manufacturing industry, our small and medium-sized enterprises against these unprecedented attacks. We will defend them to defend Europe, because they made Europe with their work, their sacrifices, their creativity, their products of excellence, while the environmentalists discussed the best way to propose the next absurd laws, comfortably sitting on their living room sofas.
We will defend our farmers, our fishermen, our manufacturing industry, our small and medium-sized enterprises against these unprecedented attacks. We will defend them to defend Europe.
The Union we envision must regain pride in its history and identity. We will continue to firmly oppose all attempts to deny or erase our cultural roots, starting with our Christian roots. The first bricks of Europe were those of the first monasteries. This is a fact. To forget, deny, or diminish it is to deny the very meaning of Europe as a civilization. And we will not allow it. We will similarly oppose those who want to undermine the family as the pillar of our society, those who want to introduce gender theory in schools, those who want to promote inhumane practices like surrogacy. No one will make me believe that allowing rich men to buy the bodies of poor women or to choose their children as if they were supermarket products can be called progress. This is not progress—it is obscurantism.
I am proud that the Italian Parliament is currently discussing a law proposed by Fratelli d’Italia to make surrogacy a universal crime. This will make it punishable in Italy even if the crime is committed abroad.
While Giorgia Meloni chose not to be present in person in Madrid, she did not miss Abascal’s call by connecting via video, for at least three reasons. Firstly, Europa Viva 24 was co-organized by the ECR, which Meloni has led since 2020. Secondly, there is a close personal relationship between the current Italian Prime Minister and Abascal: in addition to previous editions of Viva, Meloni accompanied Abascal and Macarena Olona during the now-famous rally in the Marbella bullring during the 2022 Andalusian elections campaign. For his part, Abascal has traveled to Italy several times, notably participating in Atreju, the annual meeting of the Melonian right.
Thirdly, Meloni could not miss the Madrid meeting as she is the most important far-right leader in Europe, heading the government of the Union’s third-largest economy. Without reaching the excesses of the Marbella rally, Meloni returned to a more identitarian and critical discourse vis-à-vis the Union, demonstrating that her alleged moderation after arriving at Palazzo Chigi is nothing but a pragmatic facade aimed at gaining international acceptance. The most interesting part is the attack against the EPP—without naming them—for its agreements with liberals and social democrats. This undiplomatic pressure seems to partly oppose the encompassing strategy she has deployed in recent months by forging a close relationship with Ursula von der Leyen.
We will fight especially against those who, like the left biased by the will to erase identities, seek to use Brussels to impose their globalist and nihilistic agenda. Where nations are reduced to accidents of history, peoples to mere consumers, where multiculturalism and ethical relativism are presented as the necessary pillars of European integration…
For the first time, the results of the European elections could put an end to unnatural and counterproductive majorities. We must stay focused, keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the horizon; the time for mobilization is now.
Dear friends, the 2019-2024 European legislature has been characterized by wrong priorities and wrong strategies. While other political forces have supported unnatural agreements with the left—giving birth to green and progressive impositions—we have always fought, often alone, for a different Union. But today, we may be experiencing a different moment. We are on the eve of a decisive election because, for the first time, the results of the European elections could put an end to unnatural and counterproductive majorities. We must stay focused, keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the horizon; the time for mobilization is now, it is time to take to the streets, look our compatriots in the eyes, and explain to them what we want to do in the next five years.
We have a duty to fight until the last day of the electoral campaign. Because no change in Europe is possible without European conservatives. And that is a fact. We are the engine and protagonists of the renaissance of our continent.
Long live Italy!
Long live Spain!
Long live European conservatives!
Marine Le Pen (France)
With Vox and its president, Santiago Abascal—whom we have been in contact with for a long time—you embody the Spanish patriotic movement. I know I can count on you at the European level to revive Europe. Because Europe, the true Europe, the one of freedom and peoples, of sovereignty and states, of identity and nations, needs our combined forces. Because the European Union has done it a lot of harm for decades.
In this common political fight, I come to tell you how important the friendship between our two countries, the fraternity between our two parties, and the solidarity between our parliamentarians are for our project of recovery. And allow me to send you the greetings of millions of French patriots and assure you that you can count on their friendship and support.
Together, we are in the final stretch to make June 9 a day of liberation and hope. We have three weeks left to convince our respective compatriots to vote and to mobilize so that Jordan Bardella and Jorge Buxadé arrive with the largest possible delegation in Brussels. The promoters of the European Union, led by the Macron-Von der Leyen duo, are never satisfied: they now want to bring our continent to a near-European fusion, a forced march towards a centralized European super-state. This time—and it is unprecedented—they are doing it openly. Everything is in the Verhofstadt report adopted by the European Parliament by a few votes last November, which notably talks about the end of the veto right.
Together, we are in the final stretch to make June 9 a day of liberation and hope.
The more they build an integrated Union, the worse the results are. It is difficult not to mention the issue of immigration at this time. Entire areas of my country, France, are in a situation of migratory submersion and are no longer under state authority. We often talk about no-go zones: in reality, these are areas governed by other laws than French laws. This situation of migratory separatism—which also exists in Great Britain, Belgium, or Sweden—with increasing insecurity and the constant threat of unrest, threatens the whole of Europe.
They have failed in everything—everything except the freedom of the European peoples. Because you do not want this vision. We do not want it either. I think a large part of the peoples of Europe do not want it either. The Union wants to silence the peoples and we want a Europe that guarantees their freedom. The Union wants to abolish the veto right, which guarantees nations the defense of their interests, and it wants to interfere everywhere in the lives of our fellow citizens while we want a Europe of freely consented cooperations. The European Union wants to standardize the continent: we want a Europe that ensures the diversity of cultures and identities of European peoples.
Entire areas of my country, France, are in a situation of migratory submersion and are no longer under state authority.
The presence of the leader of the National Rally at Europa Viva 24 is doubly important. Firstly, it demonstrates that beyond the division between the ECR and ID groups in the European Parliament, the European far-right can work together. The differences on such important subjects as geopolitics—Marine Le Pen’s pro-Putin positions are well known, and her party received about 11 million euros in loans from Kremlin-linked banks in 2014—do not seem to prevent collaboration, as shown by the manifesto in favor of Europe’s Christian roots, signed by the vast majority of far-right parties in July 2021, or Le Pen’s participation in the Madrid summit in January 2022.
Does the decision of Le Pen and Salvini to no longer sit with the German AfD lay the foundations for a rapprochement between the ECR group and part of ID? It is true that the possibility of a unification of the entire far-right in Europe has always been an elusive dream that has never materialized, but there could be surprises in this regard starting June 10.
Secondly, Mrs. Le Pen’s speech is much harsher than Meloni’s. Her attacks on von der Leyen and Macron are direct. The leader of the National Rally also affirms what others have not dared to say: although she speaks of wanting to regenerate Europe, her speech is clearly positioned on an Eurosceptic line. The anxieties related to the end of the veto right reveal the model of Europe advocated by Le Pen: a confederation of sovereign states that only agree on certain subjects, such as the economy or immigration. A model also defended to this day by Fratelli d’Italia.
Roger Severino (United States)
Dear friends, I bring an urgent message from the United States: what is happening to President Trump in New York can happen in Madrid, Paris, London, can happen to me, and can happen to you. I am referring to leftists corrupting the law and turning it into a weapon to interfere with democracy and silence the voice of the people.
Unable to convince millions of people to vote for their absurd programs, leftists try to convince 12 jurors of a crime that doesn’t exist. Instead of debating with their opponents, they want to imprison them. What was unthinkable 10 or even 5 years ago is our reality today. But this is not the only warning I bring. Today, on American campuses, there is disorder, violence, and rampant anti-Semitism, promoted by a radical ideology that treats aggressors as victims and one of the most oppressed groups in history as oppressors.
What is happening to President Trump in New York can happen in Madrid, Paris, London, can happen to me, and can happen to you.
These same young people have been bombarded by a culture and a medical system that tell them to explore all sexual appetites from the age of 10, that abortion is not the destruction of babies but medical care, that if they are uncomfortable with their sex, they were probably born in the wrong body and surgical operations can fix this mistake.
But I am here to tell you that God does not make mistakes. Our common Western civilization is at risk of disappearing precisely because we have forgotten God and Christ. But He is still with us. Even in these dark days, we must have faith in our Western heritage and all the good received over two thousand years, centered on faith, reason, the rule of law, and the family.
I am here to tell you that God does not make mistakes. Our common Western civilization is at risk of disappearing precisely because we have forgotten God and Christ.
Europe and the United States have lost so much faith in the West that not only have we failed to pass on our culture to our children, but we no longer even have children. In most Western countries, there are unfortunately more deaths than births. If we let this situation persist, it will be the ultimate triumph of the left, which sees every human being—when they allow them to be born—as an additional source of carbon pollution.
In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher restored a sense of national pride. They rolled back socialism, and families began to grow again. More recently, President Trump formed a new conservative coalition that demands secure borders and freedom from the globalist elites who want to control everything you buy, everything you eat, everything you say, and even everything you think. I had the great honor of serving for four years under President Donald Trump and saw him defend forgotten workers. Trump directly opposed the woke elites in business, Big Tech, and academia. His deregulation efforts led to economic prosperity and employment levels not seen in a generation. He ended DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) programs that made people accountable to the administration—not the other way around.
Europe and the United States have lost so much faith in the West that not only have we failed to pass on our culture to our children, but we no longer even have children.
But just as we were beginning to restore America’s greatness, his efforts were interrupted. I expect that in a few months, Trump will return to finish what he started.
At the Madrid meeting, Severino represented the voice of Trumpism. His speech clearly echoes the slogans of the far-right in the United States, which has taken over the Republican Party and a whole series of conservative foundations and think tanks, like the Heritage Foundation itself, of which Severino is vice president, which have significantly radicalized their positions over the past decade. Severino’s recipe, that is, the Trumpist recipe, relies primarily on three elements: religious faith—with the corollary of the fight against abortion and the push for higher birth rates—; ultra-liberal economic policies; and the fight against the supposed cultural hegemony of the left—concentrated in the paranoia of wokism.
Three elements can be retained from his intervention at Vistalegre. On the one hand, the desire to present oneself as the defender of freedom and democracy against a supposedly anti-democratic left. On the other hand, the direct attack on American universities and students accused of being anti-Semitic—the defense of Netanyahu’s government having become a point of convergence for almost the entire far-right. Finally, the explicit mention of Reagan and Thatcher, presented as models and precursors—recall in this regard that George W. Bush, a worthy heir of Reagan, did not support Trump in the 2020 election.
Mateusz Morawiecki (Poland)
As you can hear, I speak in Polish. I apologize as I unfortunately cannot be in Madrid. Why did I start by speaking in my native language? Because today, some forget that English is not the only language and that Brussels is not the only capital.
Some forget that Europe is above all a union of nations. And not a land of bureaucrats. This is why a voice rises from Spain, from Poland, but also from many other European countries.
Europe must be the land of new hope, the homeland of the future. Europe must be a leader. Unfortunately, the world has become a dangerous place again. We are very concerned about the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia. We must move forward for Europe; we must move forward for each other. In 1795, when we were divided by three aggressors—France, Prussia, and Russia—Don Domingo de Iriarte was one of the last Spanish diplomats to remain in Warsaw. Evoking his memory must give us a lesson: what is happening today before our eyes is the division of Europe. In Poland, we know that Russia will not stop at Ukraine. We know that Russia’s aggression is a threat to the European order.
Europe must be the land of new hope, the homeland of the future.
Today, Europe faces many threats. We have an existential enemy. Yes, Russia is Europe’s nemesis. This is why conservatives today must be a civilizing force: it is we who must ensure this stability. We must ensure that Europe, as a legacy, survives.
Emphasizing his opposition to European political integration—the Union should be only a “union of nations”—the former Polish prime minister, PiS (Law and Justice) deputy, and ERC member, highlighted the Russian threat—an idea hard to imagine Le Pen espousing. Will geopolitical fracture remain the major element preventing the unification of the entire far-right on a European scale? Or, as the government agreement in the Netherlands showed, is it enough for the ID far-right to moderate its positions and distance itself from Moscow to be considered “presentable” for popular parties, even liberal ones?
José Antonio Kast (Chile)
This megaphone has been an instrument to stop the left in its harmful ideology. Here, in Spain—and we say it loud and clear—the failure of Podemos would not have been possible without Vox, without Santiago Abascal and without all of you. The failure of Podemos is due to the fight of millions of people for freedom that stopped the advance of the most radical left.
Today, many people focus on the numbers, on the percentages, because they are unable to see beyond and understand the danger lurking behind these radical groups and the deep damage they can cause to a country. Sánchez governs today a disastrous government for Spain, unable to stop illegal immigration, to fight insecurity, and to give solidity to the economy and employment.
As we say in Chile: “he has little time left.” We also say in Chile “Out! Out!”. Our time will come, we will pursue it with perseverance and consistency and with the ideas of freedom always ahead of us.
The leader of the Chilean Republican Party focused his charge on the left—particularly Podemos and the government of Pedro Sánchez, without crossing red lines like Javier Milei. Seen from Spain, what is striking is that apart from mentions of Vox, his speech could have been delivered by Alberto Núñez Feijóo—which speaks less to Kast’s supposed moderation than to the radicalization of the PP. The reference to the megaphone is a nod to Abascal and his early rallies.
Viktor Orbán (Hungary)
I greet you from Budapest on the eve of the European elections. We are facing a great common battle. Brussels is triggering massive illegal immigration, poisoning our children with sexist propaganda, abandoning rural areas, and destroying traditional families. We cannot allow this.
To make matters worse, a few weeks ago in Brussels, we were sent to the police because they didn’t want to hear us talk about conservative, Christian, and patriotic values. In other words, the future of our Europe. There is no other alternative in this situation, dear Spanish friends: we patriots must occupy Brussels.
We can only rely on ourselves if we want to defend Europe’s borders. We can only rely on ourselves if we want our families to be safe and at peace. We can only rely on ourselves if we want to help people have children and if we want the rural areas, including Spanish rural areas, to have a future. And for that, we need many patriotic fighters throughout Europe. People who have already proven themselves.
My friend Santiago Abascal and the supporters of Vox are dedicated fighters, especially when it comes to security, freedom, and the protection of Spaniards and families.
Go Santiago, go Vox, let’s make Europe great again!
While Fiala, a Czech member of the ECR, did not attend Viva 24, Meloni and Orbán, the only European far-right heads of government to participate, did so digitally. In the Hungarian Prime Minister’s speech, two points stand out:
Firstly, the centrality of the four themes brandished as banners and shared by all far-right groups at the European level: immigration, traditional family, “gender theory,” and rural life. Secondly, Orbán is perhaps one of the most explicit speakers in his desire to take power within the Union or, to use his terms, “occupy Brussels.” It is worth noting the shift that the far-right has made over the past decade: from wanting to destroy the Union and leave the euro to wanting to conquer it. In the 2019 European elections, they were already aiming for this 180-degree turn: today, the turn is complete.
Javier Milei (Argentina)
Long live freedom, damn it!
Long live freedom, damn it!
Long live freedom, damn it!
[singing]
Hello everyone, I am the lion,
the beast roars in the middle of the avenue,
leftists cry without understanding
A panic show in broad daylight.
Several minutes pass amid the long and sustained applause of an audience cheering for Milei and demanding the famous “Viva la libertad, carajo!” repeated — shouted — three times by the Argentine president. He then begins his speech by singing and adapting the song “Panic Show” by the Argentine rock band La Renga.
I would like to start by thanking the organizers of Viva, Vox, and my dear friend Santiago Abascal for inviting me to be here with you today. On Friday, when I presented my book El Camino del Libertario, I said that when I first started publicly waging this cultural war, I was as alone as Adam on Mother’s Day. In this context, one of the few who embraced my cause and supported me when everyone else turned their backs was dear Santiago. So, I want to begin today by publicly thanking him in front of you. Thank you.
Santiago, look at Santiago, how far we have come and how far we still have to go. I have preached my vision of the capitalist system before audiences where most of those listening did not always share what I said. Sometimes, I even preach before people who hate it because they feel targeted by my criticism — this happened, for example, at the Davos Forum. Therefore, I must say that, just like when I spoke at the Milken Institute in Los Angeles, it is good to be among friends today. It is comforting to be before an audience that shares our ideas, and it is part of the immense task of waging the cultural battle against those who want to impose a worldview on us that is not only immoral but also contrary to the values that made the West great.
When I first started publicly waging this cultural war, I was as alone as Adam on Mother’s Day.
Two years, it’s true, is not much — but a lot has happened since the last time I was here with you. When I arrived here two years ago, I was just a national deputy who, accompanied only by the current Vice President of the nation, faced the entire Argentine political system, defending the ideas of freedom. I want to tell you that even though I have a somewhat more complicated and particular job today, I have never abandoned — and I will never abandon — my historical task, which is to be a humble disseminator of the ideas of freedom. Because I am convinced that today more than ever, these ideas and values that have brought the human species to the pinnacle are in danger and must be defended against the assault of damned and cancerous socialism.
Socialism is an ideology painted with an altruistic veneer but fundamentally hides the worst of human nature: envy, hatred, resentment, unequal treatment before the law, and, if necessary, murder, because never forget that damned socialists have murdered 150 million human beings. Recently, during the conference I gave at the Milken Institute, I said that, in a sense, we Argentines are the prophets of an apocalyptic future that we have already experienced, but that you, in the West, still have ahead of you. If you look at Argentina’s history over the last two centuries, you will see a tragedy in two acts: the rise and fall, a tragedy that shows what can happen when the ideas of freedom are replaced by any type of collectivist experiment. In the second half of the 19th century, Argentine leaders engraved in marble the basic principles of liberalism, namely the defense of life, liberty, and private property. As a result, we experienced the strongest economic growth process in our history. Argentina’s growth was greater than China’s at that time. In just 35 years, we became a world power, we were the first nation in human history to eradicate illiteracy, we had a total GDP greater than the combined GDP of Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru. And we were the world’s leading power in terms of GDP per capita.
We, a peripheral country that the rest of the world barely knew, were the Mecca of the West and welcomed millions and millions of immigrants who dreamed of a better life in Argentina. Most of them were Spanish, which partly explains the eternal brotherhood between our peoples. However, starting from the first half of the 20th century, political leaders fell in love with the state, abandoned the ideas of freedom, and replaced them with the doctrine of social justice, which directly attacks the freedom and property of individuals. Thus began the century of humiliation in Argentina. 100 years of decadence during which all the basic rules of economics were repeatedly violated to support politicians’ eagerness to spend what we do not have under the delusional pretext that where there is a need, a right is born.
Social justice is always unjust since it involves theft and unequal treatment before the law, and every attempt by politicians to make themselves look good ends up harming the production of wealth and, consequently, society as a whole. They do not understand, or do not seem to care, that the cost of maintaining this well-meaning progressive pantomime is the subversion of all the values that made Western civilization the spearhead of human progress. Because deep down, they are guided by the basest human passions: envy, hatred, and resentment, which cloud their thinking and blind them. They are so blinded that they live by projecting their misfortunes onto others. That is why, to all those who think they can save the world with an omnipresent state, high taxes, gender quotas, and punitive charges for employers, I say: do you know what is best for workers? Let them freely conclude contracts with their employers and stop treating women as victims needing special attention.
I ask: do socialists consider women to be inferior beings to grant them privileges? I ask socialists: do they know what is best for the planet? Let the market find the best solutions, as it always has. Do you know what is best for children? A father and a mother who know them much better than any bureaucrat. And do you know how to achieve this? By removing the parasitic state from people’s lives and letting citizens be free, letting them freely associate, choose what they produce, who they employ, where they study, to whom they sell, what they buy, and what they do with the fruit of their labor.
The world will not be saved by pursuing the guilty agenda of a few bureaucrats, but by shrinking the state to expand society. We must destroy this parasitic idea that has been learned in the West that the task of the state—that is, of the bureaucrat—is to control all aspects of citizens’ lives, this idea that politicians should take care of people—from the cradle to the grave. That has never been the task of the state: the task of the state, if it exists at all, is to defend the life, liberty, and private property of individuals.
The world will not be saved by pursuing the guilty agenda of a few bureaucrats, but by shrinking the state to expand society.
But global elites do not understand how destructive the implementation of socialist ideas can be because they are too far removed from it. They do not know what kind of society and country it can produce, what kind of people cling to power, and what levels of abuse it can generate — even when they have a corrupt woman and take five days to think about it.
That is why it is up to me to show you what is sinister and infamous about socialism because we have experienced it, we suffer from it every day, because Argentina has been a country infected by socialism for decades, or perhaps I should say, was. Socialism leads to poverty and death — anyone who says otherwise is ignorant or a liar. It leads to death. We must never give in to anything, we cannot be pushed an inch by the leftists, even when they seem to be right — because they are never right.
The Argentine president was undoubtedly the star guest of Europa Viva 24. His remarkably aggressive speech was the most notable of those delivered at Vistalegre.
This is not new, but the place and context in which it was delivered are important. It should not be forgotten that this is Milei’s first official trip to Spain and that he did not ask to meet with either the head of state or the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. He even insulted his wife, calling her “corrupt” without any proof, triggering a major diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Buenos Aires.
The paleolibertarian recipe or—as the Argentine president likes to say—”anarcho-capitalist” boils down to an attack on socialism, defined as an ideology that engenders misery and death; the assertion that social justice is an “aberration”; the denial of the existence of rights; the constant defense of liberty, which becomes an empty signifier; the idea that the state should practically disappear and not interfere in citizens’ lives. Milei’s proposal mixes authoritarianism and conservatism with an aggressive ultra-liberalism that makes Reagan and Thatcher pale in comparison: think of his criticism of the Davos Forum, considered a summit of dangerous socialists…
All this in a strategy marked by cultural war, clearly assumed by weaponizing the thought of the Italian communist philosopher Antonio Gramsci—often cited by Milei—and taking it out of context. However, it should not be forgotten that the leader of La Libertad Avanza uses cultural wars, mixed with fake news and post-truth—as evidenced by his idealized vision of Argentina’s history, far from any scientific basis—to create media noise and chaos so that other issues are not addressed—such as, for example, the austerity policies implemented after his arrival at the Casa Rosada. Policies that not only have not improved the country’s economic situation but have exponentially increased the number of families living in poverty.
Matt and Mercedes Schlapp (United States)
Santiago, thank you very much for inviting us to Spain. You told us the trip would be worth it, and it is. What a great time to be alive, to participate in this fight for freedom. What a great moment for the United States to fight for everything that makes America great. Mercedes and I have a message: stop watching CNN. Stop reading American newspapers, stop. We have something important to tell you: in the United States, we are going to win because Donald Trump will become our president again. There are months, days left for Americans to rise up. Because Americans have been lied to, they have been lied to by the same people who are lying to you here in Spain. You have been told that your families are broken, that they are not important. You have been told that it is better for your children to be raised by the government. You have been told that your faith in God is a false idea and an outdated concept.
It is not for its content that the Schlapps’ speech—which boils down to the classic Trumpist slogans, including attacks on independent media—is important. What is important is the presence in Madrid of the president of the American Conservative Union and the leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)—the main think tanks of Trumpism alongside the Heritage Foundation. On the one hand, it demonstrates how Vox and the European far-right maintain good relations with the ultra-right across the Atlantic. On the other hand, it shows the tentacular presence of ultra-right networks and pressure groups around the world. Starting in 2017, during Trump’s presidency, while his wife Mercedes worked as the White House’s strategic communications director, Schlapp was the main driver of CPAC’s global expansion, organizing summits in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Hungary. Most of the leaders present at Vistalegre have participated in one or another event organized by CPAC in Europe or the Americas.
The reason America will win and Trump will be president again is that we are reaffirming our faith in God, our belief in His truth. We honor the life He gives us and celebrate every life. We thank Him for engaging us in this fight for freedom, for civilization, for our future, and it is crucial that we all stand together, hand in hand, conservatives, people who believe in tradition, in faith. We will not let Biden or Soros divide us. The reason America will win and Trump will be president again is that we are reaffirming our faith in God, our belief in His truth. We will not let Biden or Soros divide us.
Amichai Chikli (Israel)
It is a great privilege to be here. Thank you very much, Mr. Abascal, for your invitation to this unique event. As we all know, Israel is going through a difficult time. We are currently under multiple attacks with Iranian cruise missiles, an attack from Hezbollah and its sister organizations, launched without provocation from the Lebanese border. And of course, the war against Hamas, which launched a brutal attack a few months ago against Israel, killing more than 1,000 civilians, elderly people, children, women. How can a human being be motivated to torture a woman in front of her children and then kill them? How can one cultivate a desire for death, the rape of young women who were at a party? These are the corrupt truths of Hamas and radical Islam. In schools, the Palestinian education system teaches hatred, the desire to kill infidels, Jews, with this mix of religious fanaticism and paramilitary troops.
[…] Please do not forget the innocents, do not forget how it all started, how this war started. We have no choice but to fight and win for the sake of our children, for the sake of the free world. Unfortunately, Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez believes that Palestinians should be rewarded for their massacre and that it is time to give them a state. This war is not just about the future of Gaza or the State of Israel. It is an existential battle for the future of our civilization against radical Islam, the future of Western civilization, the future of humanity.
Some facts about the Palestinian Authority need to be recalled. Not a single senior official has condemned Hamas’s barbarity. Not even a single post within the Palestinian government of the Palestinian Authority. On the contrary, many Palestinians support the massacre within the government and think it is a natural response. Fatah officials say that in Sabra, there were other massacres, and they are in a state of euphoria. They are in a state of euphoria, of immense joy. But the Palestinian Authority goes further. It demands payments for prisoners, it demands billions of shekels so that schools can continue to indoctrinate young people to hate Jews.
The Palestinian Institute conducted a study in October: 90% of Palestinians were proud of the October 7 attack. It takes a whole people to raise a child, and it also takes a whole people to raise murderous rapists. Santiago, a few months ago, you came to Israel to show your solidarity. You walked through the destroyed houses of the kibbutzim, you saw the children who had left their toys there, and unlike others, you did not do it for the photo. Unlike others, your good heart led you to align with the State of Israel instead of loving Hamas. Thank you very much Santiago Abascal, thank you for supporting the truth on behalf of the citizens and the government of Israel. I want to thank you because you have very well understood that this war is not just about the future of Gaza or the State of Israel. It is an existential battle for the future of our civilization against radical Islam, the future of Western civilization, the future of humanity.
The presence at Vistalegre of the Israeli minister in charge of Diaspora Affairs and the fight against antisemitism is symptomatic of the convergence between the global far right and the State of Israel, conceived as a sort of “sentinel of the West” in the Middle East. Over the past decades, and especially after September 11, 2001, the far right has made a 180-degree turn, going from diffuse antisemitism to support for Israel against the backdrop of opposition to Islam. The Netanyahu government, formed by Likud, allied with the CRE, and far-right religious formations, is a model of right-wing unification for the ultra-right around the world.
Santiago Abascal (Spain)
What good friends we have, what a joy to be able to hear so many different languages here today, so many different accents, so many different parties, associations, and movements, but who fight against the same threats—and those who spoke before me mentioned them all. Because we face these absolutely common threats, we are ready to cooperate, to collaborate, and to show solidarity with each other. That is the key: because we all defend our sovereignty and our national interest, because our first duty is to our compatriots. Although we are here today with our international allies, we also know that we cannot do it alone because the others, our adversaries, do not do it alone and face globalism that attacks national sovereignties and its absolutely criminal socialist soul that restricts press freedom, we must respond with a global alliance of Patriots to defend common sense, economic prosperity, security, and freedom. Because we share the threat, but also the hope of change, of triumph. And this must lead us to absolute fraternity, to permanent collaboration, to work side by side and tirelessly until we defeat each of the policies that only aim at the moral, economic, and national ruin of our peoples.
We have seen these policies at work in Spain for too long, we have seen them, and we still suffer from them. A globalist government submitted, delivered, or kidnapped by all the enemies of our country, from those who want to break it from within to those who want to invade it from without, and since then, not a single day goes by without them attacking national unity, the separation of powers, attacking our borders, or directly reaching into the pockets of workers. And it is like this every day, day after day, because one day they blow up a power plant, and the next day they raise taxes to pay for gas from Russia. One day, while half of Spain is thirsty and the other half is flooded, they oppose dams and water transfers following the prescriptions of the Nature Restoration Act, and the next day, they approve hundreds of millions to pay Morocco for its own water transfers and its own dams. We must respond with a global alliance of Patriots to defend common sense, economic prosperity, security, and freedom.
One day, they disguise themselves—because they also disguise themselves here, dear José Antonio—as defenders of democracy and the same evening, the same evening, they are in bed with all the narco regimes. They take pictures with the human remains of the victims of last century’s socialism. The president of the government did it, as if they liked to revive old grudges and old wars. And the next day, they promote an amnesty law for terrorists and thieves because they say we must forget that.
[…] They are the ones who are guilty of promising a false future, false hope to millions of people around the world, which we are not even able to offer to our children and our families. They are the ones, the progressives, the leftists, the reds, the socialists, and the cowardly and self-conscious right wing, who are guilty.
The leader of Vox, the host of the event, did not add anything fundamentally new to his usual speech. However, it is worth noting the verbal violence of his intervention, which goes as far as calling to “throw out” the government of Pedro Sánchez, and the incessant attacks against the PP, which he called the “cowardly right.”
[…] And so on every day and every month until we oust this government. The question is how it is possible that we haven’t ousted them earlier, that we haven’t defeated them utterly, remembering all these barbarities, all these outrages, those they have committed, those they are committing, and those they are about to commit.
That is the question.
You will see that they will say I made a literal proposal and they will make headlines every day because they do not understand the Spanish language. Do you know why it is possible that we haven’t achieved it yet? Well, because there is a cowardly and deceptive right that, one day, pretends to oppose these things and the next day, approves them, assumes them in one way or another, because the cowardly and deceptive right, one day, protests against this government and the next day, begs for any pact — from regional financing to the way judges are appointed.
The most interesting part is probably the mention of a “global alliance of patriots for the defense of common sense.” On one hand, it shows that the far right sees itself as part of a global family and has built international networks that should theoretically contradict the ultranationalism it professes. On the other hand, it refers to “common sense,” a notion that should be understood both in the logic of de-demonizing these formations—they do not consider themselves extremists or radicals: they claim to defend the common people, the ordinary folk—and in the aim to conquer common sense understood as the general consensus—the quest to normalize the discourse to the point of considering it, precisely, as common sense.
Photo made by John Chrobak using “José Antonio Kast en su campaña presidencial, 2017” by Torobayo80 licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; “Рабочий визит в Венгрию” by Kremlin.ru licensed under CC BY 4.0; “A.Ventura – Presidente Chega” by Duke of Winterfell licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; “Giorgia Meloni Official 2023” by Governo Italiano licensed under CC BY 3.0.
