In early November, the Cross-Continental Conservative Congress was jointly organized by the Serbian People’s Party (SNP) under its chairman Nenad Popović and the U.S. Republicans for National Renewal. Representatives of conservative parties from all over the world responded to the invitation to the Serbian capital, Belgrade. Among them were members of the Lega (Italy), the Rassemblement National (France), the Austrian FPÖ, U.S. Republicans, Vlaams Belang (Belgium), VOX (Spain), Fidesz (Hungary), and even the Bharatiya Janata Party (India). A representative from Israel had to cancel his participation due to the recent terrorist attacks by Hamas in his country.
The two AfD members of parliament, Petr Bystron and Harald Weyel, traveled from Germany to take part in one of the five panel discussions. Their party colleague, Omid Najafi, a member of the state parliament of Lower Saxony, was also a guest.
The fact that Popović succeeded in bringing conservatives from various countries, and above all from the USA, to Belgrade is all the more astonishing when one considers that Serbia’s relationship with the United States has been ‘complicated’ since the NATO bombings in 1999. However, the conference was not about current day-to-day politics but about meta-political issues.
Conservatives must stand up to left-wing chaos
In his opening speech, Popović said that “values such as faith in God, freedom, patriotism, [and] strong and healthy families are threatened by aggressive leftist and liberal ideologies” and that conservative movements and conservative politics are the only possible response to this. He went on to say that “wrong and failed leftist policies have led to people living in a very dangerous time.” Another theme of his speech was the damaging impact of left-liberal ideology on the European economy.
Popović also criticized gender ideology in his speech. He described it as pointless propaganda that offers false choices in terms of gender and language. Conservative movements are the only possible response to this “chaos.”
“The citizens of Europe are already recognizing the decades of disastrous policies of left-liberal governments. Our friends are already triumphing and forming governments in Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Slovakia with the conservative parties present at this conference today,” Popović said happily.
Many U.S. Republicans were on site
The conference co-organizer Republicans for National Renewal’s Mark Ivanyo agreed with Popović. “It was a pleasure for Republicans for National Renewal to co-host the congress in Serbia, which was a great success. The more conservatives cooperate on a global level, the sooner we can move from the defensive to the offensive against the Left. The future is conservative; that is inevitable.”
Petr Bystron, spokesperson for foreign affairs of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the Bundestag, observed, “[It’s] a good thing to ally with the anti-globalist forces from the USA.”
After Popović’s welcoming remarks, Filip Brusselmans (Vlaams Belang), followed by Thibaut François (Rassemblement National), and Jovan Palalić gave presentations on why youth work and international cooperation are important among conservatives. This was followed by five panel discussions on various topics, including “Overcoming fake conservatives and the globalist elite,” the role of religion for right-wing parties, effective communication in social media, and the promotion of conservative politics.
Both the list of participants and the panel discussions included many U.S. Republicans. In addition to Ivanyo, the first three panels were moderated by the president of the Young Republicans in New York, Gavin Wax, and the conservative commentator Jack Posobiec.
Conservatives should network before elections
For Jake Hoffman, from Young Republicans in Florida, it was interesting to meet like-minded people from around the world and hear about the challenges their countries are facing. “In the United States, we often focus on ourselves and ignore international news, but we need to continue to build bridges with our peers in the Western world,” he emphasized.
Jurij Kofner, head of the AfD-affiliated MIWI Institute, summarized after the event:
The real levers of power are only found to a limited extent in parliaments, but in universities, the media, and research institutes. Because that is where the sovereignty of opinion of tomorrow is formed. The Left has known this since Gramsci, and the Right still has to internalize it. That is why the support and cooperation of alternative conservative think tanks is so important.
Miša Đurković from the Institute for European Studies also emphasized the importance of this conference.
It is obvious that the conservative forces are beginning to consolidate and unite ahead of a series of important political elections. American presidential elections, EU parliamentary elections, British parliamentary elections, Austrian parliamentary elections, and others require the mobilization and international cooperation of conservative forces.”
“We will stick together”
It is therefore not surprising that this type of conference is now being held in Belgrade every year—a kind of mini-CPAC in Serbia. Jack Posobiec was very pleased with this plan:
It was an honor to be asked to speak at the first Cross-Continental Conservative Conference in Belgrade. For centuries, Belgrade has been a symbol of the Christian West’s resistance to totalitarianism. Thanks to Dr. Popović’s leadership, this conference will be an important summit for the global conservative movement.
After the event in Belgrade, AfD member of parliament Najafi was also enthusiastic and optimistic about the future:
The fact that U.S. Republicans and representatives from India also came to this symposium shows the true righteousness of the global conservative forces. In the fight against international socialism, which hides behind the mask of diversity and supposed tolerance, all the protagonists present are united: we will stick together and reason will prevail!
This article was originally published in German by Junge Freiheit on November 7, 2023. It was translated and edited for clarity and is published here with kind permission.
Conservative Conference in Belgrade: CPAC’s Little Brother
Thibaut François (Front National), Jovan Palalić (SNP), Nenad Popović (SNP), Mark Ivanyo, Petr Bystron (AfD)
Photo: Junge Freiheit
In early November, the Cross-Continental Conservative Congress was jointly organized by the Serbian People’s Party (SNP) under its chairman Nenad Popović and the U.S. Republicans for National Renewal. Representatives of conservative parties from all over the world responded to the invitation to the Serbian capital, Belgrade. Among them were members of the Lega (Italy), the Rassemblement National (France), the Austrian FPÖ, U.S. Republicans, Vlaams Belang (Belgium), VOX (Spain), Fidesz (Hungary), and even the Bharatiya Janata Party (India). A representative from Israel had to cancel his participation due to the recent terrorist attacks by Hamas in his country.
The two AfD members of parliament, Petr Bystron and Harald Weyel, traveled from Germany to take part in one of the five panel discussions. Their party colleague, Omid Najafi, a member of the state parliament of Lower Saxony, was also a guest.
The fact that Popović succeeded in bringing conservatives from various countries, and above all from the USA, to Belgrade is all the more astonishing when one considers that Serbia’s relationship with the United States has been ‘complicated’ since the NATO bombings in 1999. However, the conference was not about current day-to-day politics but about meta-political issues.
Conservatives must stand up to left-wing chaos
In his opening speech, Popović said that “values such as faith in God, freedom, patriotism, [and] strong and healthy families are threatened by aggressive leftist and liberal ideologies” and that conservative movements and conservative politics are the only possible response to this. He went on to say that “wrong and failed leftist policies have led to people living in a very dangerous time.” Another theme of his speech was the damaging impact of left-liberal ideology on the European economy.
Popović also criticized gender ideology in his speech. He described it as pointless propaganda that offers false choices in terms of gender and language. Conservative movements are the only possible response to this “chaos.”
“The citizens of Europe are already recognizing the decades of disastrous policies of left-liberal governments. Our friends are already triumphing and forming governments in Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Slovakia with the conservative parties present at this conference today,” Popović said happily.
Many U.S. Republicans were on site
The conference co-organizer Republicans for National Renewal’s Mark Ivanyo agreed with Popović. “It was a pleasure for Republicans for National Renewal to co-host the congress in Serbia, which was a great success. The more conservatives cooperate on a global level, the sooner we can move from the defensive to the offensive against the Left. The future is conservative; that is inevitable.”
Petr Bystron, spokesperson for foreign affairs of Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the Bundestag, observed, “[It’s] a good thing to ally with the anti-globalist forces from the USA.”
After Popović’s welcoming remarks, Filip Brusselmans (Vlaams Belang), followed by Thibaut François (Rassemblement National), and Jovan Palalić gave presentations on why youth work and international cooperation are important among conservatives. This was followed by five panel discussions on various topics, including “Overcoming fake conservatives and the globalist elite,” the role of religion for right-wing parties, effective communication in social media, and the promotion of conservative politics.
Both the list of participants and the panel discussions included many U.S. Republicans. In addition to Ivanyo, the first three panels were moderated by the president of the Young Republicans in New York, Gavin Wax, and the conservative commentator Jack Posobiec.
Conservatives should network before elections
For Jake Hoffman, from Young Republicans in Florida, it was interesting to meet like-minded people from around the world and hear about the challenges their countries are facing. “In the United States, we often focus on ourselves and ignore international news, but we need to continue to build bridges with our peers in the Western world,” he emphasized.
Jurij Kofner, head of the AfD-affiliated MIWI Institute, summarized after the event:
Miša Đurković from the Institute for European Studies also emphasized the importance of this conference.
“We will stick together”
It is therefore not surprising that this type of conference is now being held in Belgrade every year—a kind of mini-CPAC in Serbia. Jack Posobiec was very pleased with this plan:
After the event in Belgrade, AfD member of parliament Najafi was also enthusiastic and optimistic about the future:
This article was originally published in German by Junge Freiheit on November 7, 2023. It was translated and edited for clarity and is published here with kind permission.
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