What happened in Brussels?
“In Brussels, in the heart of the European Union, in a western liberal democracy, we’re unable to have a conversation about identity, migration, borders, family, and security without facing attempts to have it shut down,” says Matt Goodwin, a British professor.
The mayor of a Brussels district, Emir Kir, had ordered the shutdown of the National Conservatism Conference in order, he said, to “guarantee public safety.”
But Kir also stated the real reason, that in his neck of the woods “the far right is not welcome.” He apparently disagrees with viewpoints to be elaborated at
Police took steps to stymie would-be attendees.
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán said: “The last time they wanted to silence me with the police was when the Communists set them on me in ’88. We didn’t give up then and we will not give up this
This is a more open targeting of political speech than erasing the “misinformation” of social media posts. Does it signal a new strategy
Hard to say. The immediate reaction of other European politicians, including many on the left, was dismay and shock that anybody would attempt such a thing.
“Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop,” proclaims the Belgian
“Extremely disturbing,” says a British spokesman.
Could be sincere; could be a realization that “Uh oh, we’ve gone too far”; could be a mixture of both.
The next question: will it happen again?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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