"Free fatherlands"

Kickl calls for Europe to follow Trump’s USA blueprint

Herbert Kickl was connected to the "Patriot" summit via video.

(Bild: AFP/Alex HALADA)

Europe's New Right is more confident of victory than ever before. Following the example of US President Donald Trump, they want to conquer the continent. The FPÖ leadership led by Herbert Kickl also made an appearance at the grandly staged "Patriots for Europe" (PfE) summit. 

"Make Europe Great Again" - hardly any slogan was used more often on Saturday at the first summit of the European far-right group in Madrid than this variation of Trump's election campaign slogan.

Although the US president was not present in Madrid, he was omnipresent and on everyone's lips. "Make Europe great again", FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl also declared in a video message. "Our movement is unstoppable", he emphasized.

Kickl described the Madrid meeting as an "alliance of reason" that will serve as a foundation for future cooperation and friendships in Europe. The "Patriots" summit had set itself two clear goals:

1. In Madrid, the aim was to develop joint strategies to break the dominance of the conservative People's Parties and the Social Democrats in the EU Parliament.
2. Above all, however, the aim was to strengthen the unity of the right-wing parties from twelve EU member states, which had only joined forces in July last year after the EU elections to form the third-strongest group in the European Parliament.

Kickl accuses the EU of paternalism
The "Patriots for Europe" feel that their moment has come. Several surveys show that right-wing extremist parties are particularly popular among young voters across Europe with voting intentions of 30 percent.

The last election results in Austria also made this clear, according to Herbert Kickl: "The citizens of our country want change, a policy that identifies solely with the interests of its own people and is geared towards them. And that is exactly what we stand for." This change is not only happening in Austria. Everywhere in Europe, people are rising up against the paternalism of EU centralists and left-wing ideologues, according to the FPÖ party leader.

"2025 will be a decisive year for all patriots in Europe. Our movement is unstoppable. Together we will pave the way for a Europe of free fatherlands. A Europe based on tradition, identity and sovereignty. Let us pull together and realize our common goal," Kickl said to the summit participants, including Marine Le Pen from the French Rassemblement National, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini from the Lega and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from Fidesz.

Above all, however, Trump shows the path that Europe's patriots must take, said Italy's Salvini: securing the borders, fighting illegal immigration, globalization and "climate fanaticism".

Right-wingers compare themselves to kings
Nothing less than a return to common sense and the defense of the Christian West and the traditional values of Europe, the Europe of Christian values with traditional family structures with one father and one mother, said Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán.

"Corrupt" Brussels had opened the gates to illegal migrants. His friend Donald Trump has ensured that "patriots" are no longer despised, but are mainstream and the future - even in Europe. Spain's Christian kings once liberated their country from the Islamic occupiers. Now a new "reconquista" is starting in Madrid, a new "reconquest of Europe", according to Orbán.