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MCC Brussels last night held a thought-provoking and timely event on the relationship between conservatism and female voters.
This important and stimulating event went ahead despite the attempt by Brussels antifa to silence the voice of the four women speakers discussing an important topic.
Let us be very clear: Antifa are attempting to menace democracy in Brussels and beyond. They have appointed themselves as the new morality police, reserving the right to determine who can and cannot have a voice in the city which is, for better or worse, the heart of European Union politics. As was clear from their gathering, they are Brussels’ bobos in revolutionary drag, the bio-Mittelschicht fed by NGO subsidies. Their self-righteousness is laughable but it is still dangerous.
A weeks-long campaign of intimidation culminated in an assembly last night where they used tactics of law-breaking, petty thuggery and cowardly harassment. Outraged that they had been unable to prevent the meeting from taking place, they reserved their anger for individual members of the public – a small number of whom were physically barred from entering the building or hit with eggs. This is not just a clear violation of the law – but a profound assault on democratic principles.
Regrettably, much of the media has preferred to act as a mouthpiece for antifa rather than engage with the reality of what has happened. A number of outlets have published clearly pre-prepared puff pieces for Antifa, richly quoting the undemocratic activists and refusing our requests for reply. They have gone as far as lying that police blocked people entering the venue, when it was antifa thugs who did so. Antifa are entitled to have dutiful followers in the media, but these pieces expose the tight collaboration between Brussels’ political elites and the antifa rent-a-mob.
The undeniable truth is that Antifa were unsuccessful in their aims. They quickly scattered once the police enforced public order and had them dispersed. They have only demonstrated that those who are determined to exercise their democratic rights will not be stopped by a few dozen hardcore activists. But their childish theatrics are designed to have a disproportionate impact by creating a climate of fear – among political figures, among venues who host political discussions, and among members of the public.
Many Europeans were outraged when, at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance accused European countries of abandoning the democratic principles they claim to uphold. A shower of commentators insisted that Europe has no issue with freedom of speech. If this is indeed the case, it is high time for political figures of all stripes to denounce the well-documented problem in Brussels of activists – often with the tacit support of local political elites – attempting to close down public meetings.
MCC Brussels will continue to exercise its rights to host public meetings and robustly criticise the elite political consensus of which antifa acts as the cosplay paramilitaries. But more than this, we will continue developing an intellectual alternative to the failed policies of the establishment status quo. After all, it is the shakiness of the manufactured consensus and the increasing plausibility of alternatives that makes those in power so desperate to shut us down. We invite anyone who is serious about renewing the nations of Europe to join us.
