Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the Left and underlined conservative talking points, such as controlling immigration and championing free speech, while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Washington DC.In her speech on Saturday (February 22), delivered via a video link, Meloni said, “When Bill Clinton and Tony Blair created the global leftist liberal network in the 90s, they were called statesmen. Today, when [US President Donald] Trump, Meloni, [Argentina President Javier] Milei or maybe [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi talk, they are called a threat to democracy.”She said that “conservatives keep on growing, are becoming more and more influential in European politics, and that is why the Left is nervous and with Trump’s victory, their irritation has turned into hysteria, not only because conservatives are winning, but because conservatives are now collaborating globally”, to applause.What exactly is the CPAC, why was Meloni addressing the gathering and what is the broader context of European politics in which Meloni made the comments? We explain.What is CPAC?The CPAC website states: “Founded in 1964, CPAC is the nation’s oldest conservative grassroots organization and seeks to preserve and protect the values of life, liberty, and property for every American.” It also invited registration for the event Meloni addressed, saying, “Join the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world for CPAC in our Nation’s Capital, February 19-22, 2025.”Apart from hosting events and galvanising popular support for conservatism in politics, CPAC also has centres for research and assessing the performance of various lawmakers and Bills. There are global versions of CPAC events too, held in Australia, Japan, South Korea and other countries in recent years.At the 2024 CPAC in Brazil, former President and far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro said the right was gaining ground internationally and expressed hope for Donald Trump winning the US presidency again. “God willing, it will be Trump in November,” he told a cheering crowd of 3,500 supporters, according to a Reuters report.Story continues below this adWhat happened at the 2025 CPAC?US President Donald Trump, having completed about a month in office, hit out at what he calls the “radical left” and spoke on issues such as immigration and transgender women in sports. He also aimed at his predecessor Joe Biden, calling him the “worst” US President ever and saying, “Every single thing he touched turned to sh*t.” This followed a standing ovation from the crowd.For Trump, the victory lap at CPAC links to the beginnings of his political journey. According to a CNN report, the businessman first attended the gathering in 2011. “The speech Trump would deliver to a standing-room-only crowd would help launch his stardom among conservatives and set off a long chain of events that would lead to his status as the Republican Party presidential front-runner just four years later,” it said.The report detailed the contents of his speech: “He lamented that the United States was a “laughing stock” and a “whipping post” under [then US President] Obama, and he pointed specifically to China and Mexico. He read quotes from other people saying how great he was, and reminded the audience that he went to the “best” schools.”This year, foreign leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda attended the event. Onstage, Javier Milei handed a chainsaw to billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who is now in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Story continues below this adDOGE had ordered thousands of government employees to be fired across various agencies and stopped the work of many others, and Musk said on the CPAC stage, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”What is the context for Meloni’s comments?As Meloni said, criticism has been levelled at right-wing leaders by liberal and progressive people around the world. It has been argued that these leaders and their parties have encouraged the demonisation of certain groups (such as immigrants) and subverted democratic norms. Trump, for instance, has falsely claimed that he won the 2020 presidential elections.Explained | US VP J D Vance attacks Germany over free expression: Laws that govern hate speech in the countryIn Europe, the last decade has seen not just conservative but far-right parties and leaders come to power. Many have sounded the alarm with this turn, given the history of Nazism and similar ultra-nationalist movements that heralded global turmoil for the continent in the early 20th century.In France, for instance, despite the electoral gains made by the far-right party National Rally of late, centrist and left-wing parties essentially banded together to prevent it from winning national elections in 2024. But it nonetheless speaks to a shift among at least a section of voters towards such ideologies not just in France but across Europe. With Trump’s election, there is a shared interest among conservative and far-right leaders in Europe who can give a certain legitimacy to each other.Story continues below this adSecond is the anticipation of a changing dynamic of US-Europe relations under Trump. With the ongoing Ukraine war, Trump has questioned the aid that the US has given to Ukraine, compared to Europe. He has also threatened tariffs on Europe over their trade imbalance.Further, his Vice President JD Vance recently criticised European countries for restricting “free speech” and alleged a threat to their partnership’s “shared values” by citing instances from Europe. Many European politicians saw these comments on their domestic issues as unprecedented, indicating a different relationship going forward. However, with the significant heft that the US enjoys in global politics and trade, there is an opportunity for many other European countries to align more closely with it if they have commonalities in ideology or policies.