The summit of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group in Madrid was a huge demonstration of strength, a powerful parade of troops from a new European right, according to Fidesz commentators after the gathering of radical right-wing, Eurosceptic parties.

The first summit since the foundation of the PfE faction, held under the slogan 'Make Europe Great Again', served as a platform for right-wing European leaders to rally against supranational Europe and advocate for a stronger, conservative Europe based on nationalism and strict immigration controls.

Other prominent right-wing leaders, besides host Santiago Abascal of VOX, included France’s Marine Le Pen, Italy’s Matteo Salvini and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders.

Orban delivered a fiery speech on February 8, asserting that Hungary was leading the way in conservative politics, positioning the country as a model for other European countries.

"Yesterday we were heretics, today we are the mainstream. Yesterday they said we were the past, but today everyone can see that we are the future," he said in his address to the two-day event.

He proclaimed Hungary as "the laboratory of conservative politics," highlighting his government’s success in protecting the country from illegal migration and defending Christian values, such as banning gender propaganda in schools.

Orban reinforced Hungary's stance on strict immigration controls, rejecting the EU’s migration policies and claiming that his government had successfully protected Hungary from illegal migration.

He also highlighted Hungary's economic successes, including low unemployment and competitive corporate tax rates, while denouncing the "globalist elite," which, in his view, has "launched a manhunt against the country."

Hungary's longest-serving prime minister also drew parallels between the current political movement and Spain’s historical Reconquista, when Christian kings reclaimed the country from Islamic rule.

He framed the gathering as the beginning of a new "reconquest of Europe," stressing the need to protect traditional Christian values, secure borders and combat illegal migration and "climate fanaticism."

Viktor Orban has clearly been emboldened by the Republican’s election victory, which has significantly improved his international prestige, as he was the only EU leader to openly endorse Donald Trump, just as he did four years earlier.

Orban claimed that the "Trump tornado" had changed the world in just a few weeks. "We, Patriots, are the ones writing the future in America, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Hungary," he said, adding that "up next is Czechia."

The Hungarian premier, over the past few months, has ratcheted up his rhetoric against NGOs critical of the government. In his radio interview on Friday, February 7, coinciding with the release of a documentary on the enrichment of his family, he called for the elimination of the Soros network, which, in his view, is working to topple the government.

The PM has frequently used Hungarian-born George Soros as a scapegoat, accusing the 94-year-old billionaire of orchestrating attacks against Hungary, supporting the opposition financially and advocating for illegal migration.

In his address, he repeated his conspiracy theory of "population replacement," citing Soros, who in 2015 said Europe needed to take in 1mn migrants a year. Over the last nine years, the continent has seen 9mn illegal migrants enter, he concluded.

The Hungarian leader received a standing ovation for his speech.