OPINION
Cancel culture comes to Brussels
Those trying to cancel the National Conservatism
conference believe public life must be subjected to the policing of speech.
That’s bad news for all of us, regardless of ideological affiliation.
OPINION
APRIL 17,
2024 2:16 PM CET
BY FRANK
FUREDI
Frank
Füredi is the executive director of MCC Brussels and emeritus professor of
sociology at the University of Kent. MCC has been the recipient of Hungarian
government funds. The mayors of Brussels and Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode were asked
for op-eds, but didn’t respond to POLITICO’s invitations.
https://www.politico.eu/article/cancel-culture-comes-to-brussels/
Over the
years, I’ve learned that when someone says, “I believe in freedom of speech,
but …,” what really matters is what they say next.
So, when I
was negotiating with the director of the Concert Noble venue in Brussels about
whether the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference could go ahead there, I
knew bad news was imminent.
The
director was adamant that he believed in tolerance and loved free speech — then
came the “but.” And I knew our booking would be canceled.
When I
asked why, the director replied that he was scared for his staff, who felt
intimidated by the news that left-wing AntiFa activists were going to attack
the venue. And when I suggested that surely the police would protect the site,
he informed me that the mayor of Brussels had decided not to provide any police
protection for our conference. He also indicated that as far as he was
concerned, he didn’t want the NatCon conference to take place.
I observed
that obviously the issue of security served as a pretext for canceling our
event, with the language of safety masking what was ultimately a political
decision. The director smiled and nodded in agreement.
Unfortunately,
the Brussels mayor wasn’t the only city official taking the view that those
invited to speak at NatCon shouldn’t be heard.
The next
day, we found an alternate venue — the premier Hotel Sofitel. But just one day
after the contract was signed with Sofitel, as conference organizers were
setting up the stage, hotel management informed us the meeting couldn’t go
ahead. They mentioned a threat to people’s security, but this time there was no
real pretense to try and cover up the political reason behind the decision. The
mayor of the Etterbeek municipality simply boasted he’d made sure the
conference wouldn’t not take place on his patch.
“I was
warned by the press about the nature of the event and the people who were
coming. I informed the local police authorities, who contacted Sofitel and the
management decided to cancel the event,” Mayor Vincent De Wolf said. “[The
organizers] weren’t happy, they didn’t want to leave. The police arrived to
explain that the Sofitel wasn’t the one to cancel and that this was the right
thing to do. They then left peacefully,” he added.
In other
words, the mayor shamelessly boasted that a meeting attended by elected MEPs,
prime ministers and leading officials who held “the wrong views” could be
casually cancelled.
However, we
did find a third venue — the Claridge Event Hall — and managed to get our
conference off the ground. But wait for it! This time, a third mayor, Emir Kir
of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode, issued an order to shut us down.
The police
were sent to the venue armed with a court order, threatening everyone in
attendance with dire consequences. Suddenly, as police entered the premises, it
felt as if we were in an Orwellian nightmare. They only left because news
cameras were rolling, and it was evident to anyone watching that the conference
was a civilized and serious intellectual event.
Thankfully,
the owner of the Claridge took free speech seriously and told the mayor,
despite all the threats, that the conference would go ahead.
After this
past week, it’s evident that Brussels’ political establishment stands
foursquare behind the illiberal behavior of its city’s three mayors. My
experience shows that Brussels has become a tolerance-free zone, with local
politicians are behaving like tin-pot dictators despite the fact that the
Belgian constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful
assembly.
I have no
doubt that the local mayors overplayed their hands. Regardless of cancel
culture growing ubiquity, it’s unimaginable that this campaign of official
vilification directed at the NatCon movement could have occurred in any other
West European capital.
The
flagrant manner with which freedom of assembly was ignored in the supposed
capital city of Europe embarrassed even some of our opponents: British Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak felt obliged to condemn the attempts to cancel the
conference, after which Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo posted a
statement denouncing efforts to shut down the discussion at Claridge.
However,
some conference attendees told me they were delighted by the censorious
behavior of our political opponents. They felt the outrageous action publicly
confirmed the argument they’ve long made that the Brussels Bubble has become
illiberal and intolerant.
I take a
different view. The campaign to cancel the NatCon wasn’t simply directed
against this organization but against the foundational values of democracy.
Those behind the campaign believe public life must be subjected to the policing
of speech. That’s bad news for all of us, regardless of ideological
affiliation.
All who
love liberty, all who believe in freedom of assembly and free speech, stand up
to be counted.
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