Rogues gallery of the Nationalist International

Far-right parties that appeal to narrow nationalism and xenophobia seem on the face of it like the strangest bedfellows in politics. But there is a kind of Nationalist International of the kind of parties Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy refers to as the sort of politicians the Trump regime intends to promote in Europe.

And a number of those parties - including the Israeli Likud - and their leaders are endorsing the Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. The Austrian paper Der Standard reports on eleven of them, listed here with their countries and parties: (1)

• Santiago Abascal (Vox, Spain)
• Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (Ano, Czech Republic)
• Herbert Kickl (FPÖ, Austria)
• Marine Le Pen (National Rally/NR, France)
• Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d'Italia [Brothers of Italy], Italy)
• President Javier Milei (Libertzarian Party, Argentina)
• President Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS, Polen)
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu (Likud, Israel)
• Matteo Salvini (Lega, Italien)
• Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić (SNS, Serbia)
• Alice Weidel (Alliance for Germany (AfD), Germany)

At this point, these are the Trumpistas of Europe. The Guardian reports:

Rightwing leaders from around the world have come together to endorse Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, hinting at the symbolism that the country’s elections hold for global far-right movements even as the populist leader lags in the polls.

A campaign video published online by Orbán this week includes endorsements from nearly a dozen leaders including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, France’s Marine Le Pen and Germany’s Alice Weidel.

“Europe needs Viktor Orbán,” Weidel, a co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), tells viewers.

Le Pen, the former leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, piles praise on the leader who once described Hungary as a “petri dish for illiberalism”. “Thanks to leaders like Viktor Orbán, the camp of patriots and defenders of nations and sovereign peoples is achieving ever greater success in Europe,” she says. [my emphasis]

This is an entertaining image from the November 2025 edition of the German comic book Captain Berlin. The hero has a definite Captain America vibe to him. The cover shows Captain Berlin being shocked by a campaign poster for a candidate named Ilse von Blitzen, who bears a distinct resemblance to Alice Weidel, the current leader of the German far-right AfD party. His reactions is, “Oh, no! Not her!”

Notes:

(1) Sommavilla, Fabian (2026): Kickl, Le Pen, Weidel, Meloni, Netanjahu und "Hollywood-Legende" mit Wahlkampfhilfe für Orbán. Der Standard 12.01.2026. <https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000303803/kickl-le-pen-weidel-meloni-netanjahu-und-hollywood-legende-mit-wahlkampfhilfe-fuer-orban> (Accessed: 2026-13-01).