The leaders of the far-right parties in the third-largest group in the European Parliament, "Patriots for Europe", praised Donald Trump's return to the US presidency during a meeting in Madrid, which was held under the motto "Make Europe Great Again", Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The event was attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, as well as the chairwoman of the parliamentary group of the French far-right party "National Rally" Marine Le Pen and the leader of the Dutch "Party for Freedom" Geert Wilders.
"Trump's tornado changed the world in just a few weeks [...] yesterday we were heretics, today we are mainstream", Orbán told around 2,000 supporters, most of whom waved Spanish flags.
They all spoke out against immigration and most called for a new "Reconquista" - a reference to the medieval reconquest of Muslim-controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian kingdoms.
Earlier, former Estonian Finance Minister Martin Helme kicked off the rally after a video message from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. His speech, in which he denounced the "left", was interrupted by an activist from the feminist group Femen, who chanted in Spanish "Not a step back against fascism" before being ejected.
The Patriots for Europe group was formed after the European Parliament elections in May 2024 and is made up of 86 MEPs from 14 countries, with a total of 19 million votes. Madrid was chosen as the venue for its first official summit so that Patriots for Europe president Santiago Abascal, who heads the Spanish Vox party, could host it.