Leaders and aspiring leaders from across Europe's right-wing populist political spectrum gathered in the Hungarian capital last week for CPAC Hungary 2025, the fourth Budapest edition of the US Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

While there, they aired their grievances over what they see as the threat to national sovereignty posed by the EU and "gender and woke madness" and heralded the dawn of the "Age of Patriots."

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban was the star turn at the event, speaking to the crowd, some of whom had travelled from across the globe to attend.

Orban celebrated the chaos wrought by the "Trump tornado" and called on "conservatives" to seize the opportunity it offers: "We have to go home, and everyone has to win their own election. After America, we Europeans will take back our dreams and occupy Brussels!"

It's an ambitious call because although the leaders of Germany's AfD, Spain's Vox and Austria's Freedom Party (FPO) have all made considerable strides in recent elections and were represented on the podium in Budapest, right-wing and far-right populists govern few European states — except in the east.

Also in the spotlight at CPAC was a high-profile trio from central Europe: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, former and potential future Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Orban has worked to make the region a hub for........

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