In other words, the mayor shamelessly boasted that a meeting attended by elected MEPs, prime ministers and senior civil servants with “wrong opinions” could be canceled under any circumstances.
However, we found a third venue – the Claridge Event Hall – and managed to get our conference off the ground. But wait ! This time, a third mayor, Emir Kir of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode, ordered our closure.
Police were sent to the scene with a court order, threatening everyone present with dire consequences. Suddenly, when the police entered the premises, we felt like we were being plunged into an Orwellian nightmare. They only left because the news cameras were rolling and it was obvious to everyone watching that the conference was a civilized and serious intellectual event.
Fortunately, the Claridge’s owner took free speech seriously and told the mayor, despite all threats, that the conference would go ahead.
After last week, it is obvious that the Brussels political establishment strongly supports the illiberal behavior of its city’s three mayors. My experience shows that Brussels has become a no-tolerance zone, where local politicians behave like slum dictators, despite the fact that the Belgian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.
I have no doubt that the local mayors exaggerated. Regardless of the growing pervasiveness of Cancel Culture, it is unimaginable that this official smear campaign directed against the NatCon movement could have taken place in any other Western European capital.
Politices
