Wilders will still speak at controversial CPAC Hungary despite ban on many journalists

When PVV leader Geert Wilders gives a speech at the far-right CPAC Hungary conference in Budapest this month, he will do so without the presence of journalists from the top national news broadcasters in the Netherlands and Belgium. Dutch national public broadcaster NOS is among news outlets in the Netherlands that have been banned from attending, and Belgian media organization VRT NWS also said they were not allowed to send journalists to the event.

Many international journalists have been denied entry to the event, scheduled for April 25-26. A message sent to the journalists in question read, "As organizers, we must abide by one of the conference's ironclad rules: CPAC is a NO WOKE ZONE." Journalists have been removed from the event in the past.

Regardless, Wilders will still speak at the event even if many journalists are not welcome. He said it was not up to him to decide who was invited to attend, but rather it was up to event organizers. Additionally, the far-right PVV leader has in the past lashed out at journalists when they ask probing questions about his stances and policy positions.

CPAC is an abbreviation of the Conservative Political Action Conference, which began in a much smaller format in 1974. As it grew in power over the last 15 years, it also became far more affiliated with more extreme figures that pulled it towards the fringes of the alt-right, nationalist and even white supremacist movements.

The American edition of the conference caused controversy this year when far-right activist Jack Posobiec told attendees, "Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely." He said that supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump were not quite able to accomplish that goal during their attempt to overthrow the democratic electoral process on January 6, 2021, two weeks before the inauguration of Trump's successor, Joe Biden.

Posobiec said, "We will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this, right here," referring to the elimination of democracy and the gathered conservatives. The conference was attended by Trump, El Salvador's leader, Nayib Bukele, Argentine President Javier Milei, and Liz Truss, who was the prime minister of the United Kingdom and Conservative Party leader for roughly eight weeks in 2022.

Although CPAC events have had journalists ejected before, it was not clear if the CPAC Budapest event would be stricter than in the past. The organization was embarassed by the coverage of the 2024 event, including Posbiec's speech and relatively low attendance figures, while the press coverage of CPAC in 2023 often focused on the organization's questionable financial reporting.

Wilders has second billing on the upcoming event's website, next to the main speaker, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The pair have a good relationship and agree on many topics, including fierce opposition to immigration and Islam. Both have also been accused of taking political stances which are generally opposed to the European Union, and sometimes supportive of Russian positions.

On X, Wilders called it "a true honor" to speak at the event. Other political parties in the Netherlands accepted that it is Wilder's right to decide where he speaks, and to which audiences. They also made it clear that they would not have attended the conference.

"I would have chosen a different conference. But I have different political ideas." Pieter Omtzigt of the NSC said. Omtzigt has been trying to negotiate a deal with the PVV to create some form of a coalition government in the Netherlands, while simultaneously trying to distance himself from Wilders' more extreme stances.