'Make Europe Great Again': European right nods to Trump, rebukes ’Brussels elite’

MPs, prime ministers and politicians from Europe's right wing gathered Saturday in Madrid, Spain, under the slogan "Make Europe Great Again," an allusion to Donald Trump's slogan: "Make America Great Again."

Those cited were politicians who were members of parties that make up the Patriots for Europe group in the European Union Parliament. With 86 deputies out of a total of 720, that parliamentary grouping is the third largest force. It is made up of 13 countries.

Some of the most prominent figures were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, French Deputy Marine Le Pen, leader of the opposition Agrupation Nationale, and Geert Wilders, leader of the first party of the Netherlands. They were joined by some 2,000 people, as detailed by Spain’s VOX party, in charge of organizing the event.

Although absent, Trump was the star of the day. Both Orban and Le Pen agreed that his arrival at the White House produced a change of script, described as "a truly global tipping point" by the former and "the Trump tornado" by the latter, who then assured: "Yesterday we were the heretics. Today we are the mainstream... We are the future."

"As President Trump ushers a golden age for America, we must ask ourselves: are we ready to do the same in Europe?" asked Wilders as he moved to the podium. "Yes, we will make Europe great again," he promised and postulated as evidence recent electoral successes for conservatives, such as the victory of his own party, Party for Freedom, in the last parliamentary elections.

The president of Patriotas and VOX, Santiago Abascal, described the U.S. leader as "a comrade in arms in the battle for good, for truth and beauty." He even defended his tariff policy against European rulers critical of Trump's tariffs, arguing that "the great tariff" of the continent were the environmentalist measures and the "confiscatory taxes" from Brussels (headquarters of the European Union) and the socialist governments.

"There is no time for discouragement, nor is there time to lick our wounds from the attacks we suffer," Abascal added. "There is no reason for resignation and there is no excuse whatsoever for passivity, quite the contrary, there are only signs of hope everywhere and we have only one duty: to never give up."

‘Viva la libertad carajo!’

Also participating via pre-recorded messages were Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, and Argentine President Javier Milei.

"It is imperative that the democratic nations of the world accompany us with all their efforts, with all the ideas, with all the actions to achieve the orderly transition in Venezuela," Machado asked in reference to a regime change that will see the fall of the government of Nicolás Maduro. "Venezuela will be a free, prosperous, safe and sovereign country. This is until the end," she promised to the applause of the attendees.

Terse but euphoric, Milei greeted the attendees and shouted his usual catchphrase: "¡Viva la libertad carajo!" (“Long live freedom!”)

‘Give Europe back its power!’

“Illegal immigration and insecurity in our streets, reduced competitiveness, rising energy prices, climate fanaticism, excessive regulation and interference in private enterprise, and ideological pressure on member states," listed the participating parties in a closing statement of the event.

"The numerous corruption scandals in Brussels, as well as the attacks on freedom of expression, prove the hypocrisy of the Brussels elite," they argued. "We, the Patriots, are determined to bring common sense back into the decision-making process within the European Union, and to return the EU to its founding values."

They also detailed that the group's roadmap involves winning electoral majorities in national and European elections, and closed, "Give Europe back its power, give the European nations back their greatness!"