U.S. mayors join Europeans to fight authoritarianism : NPR

Right-wing populists in the United States have been building political ties across the Atlantic Ocean for years to support and learn from each other. Let’s think about President Trump, who developed a close relationship with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Now, 10 American mayors of liberal cities are doing the same and joining a group called Pact of Free Citieswhere they can share strategies with their European counterparts on how to defend democracy and fight authoritarianism.

American cities including Boston, Chicago, San Antonio and Cincinnati joined the pact virtually or in person last week for their annual meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia.

“I joined the Free Cities Pact because of the Trump administration’s actions that continue to not only lead to a rollback of democratic institutions and values ​​in our country, but also to the destruction of long-standing relationships around the world, but particularly with our European counterparts,” said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.

The mayors of Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw founded the group in 2019 to defend progressive values ​​and exchange ideas on how to deal with what they see as hostile national governments.

How to defeat a right-wing populist

At last week’s meeting, Gergely Karácsony, mayor of Budapest, shared lessons from the recent defeat of Orbán, who many political analysts say developed an authoritative playbook That has informed some of Trump’s efforts to undermine the American system of checks and balances. Karácsony said one of the turning points came last year when the Hungarian government tried ban the annual Pride parade in budapest

“This was aimed partly at intimidating people and partly at provoking a debate that would divert the political discussion from economic problems towards symbolic issues,” Karácsony said.

Instead of engaging with Orbán’s government about LGBTQ rights, Karácsony said the city took over the parade and turned it into something bigger: the right to freedom of expression and assembly. Tens of thousands of people He defied the Hungarian government and marched through the city.

Karácsony said the challenge exposed Orbán’s political weakness and contributed to his defeat last month, ending 16 years in office.

Federal Funding, Garbage Trucks, and DEI

Lacey Beaty, the progressive mayor of Beaverton, Oregon, flew across nine time zones for last week’s meeting. Upon returning home, he told NPR that the trip was worth it.

“It was an unexpected collaboration and really underscored that many of the problems we face here in the United States, other cities face as well,” he said.

Beaty said those challenges include funding cuts from federal governments that don’t like the cities’ liberal politics. For example, he said the Trump administration tried to cut some funding to Beaverton because it refused to get rid of its DEI policy.

Karácsony said Orbán’s government put similar pressure on Budapest, threatening city services such as garbage collection. The mayor responded by putting large signs on the sides of garbage trucks pointing to Orbán and his Fidesz party.

“Who wouldn’t want this bin emptied tomorrow?” the posters say.

Beaty said this illustrates why mayors need precise messaging to inform residents when the federal government cuts funding, in part so local officials won’t be blamed.

White House Says It’s More Trump Derangement Syndrome

NPR reached out to the White House for comment on American mayors joining the Free Cities Pact. White House parliamentarian Abigail Jackson responded with the following statement:

“If Democratic mayors spent half the time prioritizing the safety of their own citizens instead of engaging in TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] publicity stunts, its residents would be much better served.”

Building links with like-minded politicians in other countries is not new. The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPACHe has been cultivating relations with right-wing populists in Europe for a decade.

CPAC President Matt Schlapp said those relationships have been informative, citing Nigel Farageleader of Reform UK, a right-wing party that won the ruling Labor Party in local elections earlier this month.

Schlapp said Farage, who was a major force behind the 2016 Brexit vote, showed how to incorporate strong speech on immigration that many on the British political left found offensive and xenophobic.

“In talking to Nigel, I realized that… he was on a parallel path to the immigration conversation in the United States, where Democrats and Republicans… had made any scrutiny of immigration essentially [to] be racist,” Schlapp said.

CPAC meetings in Budapest

CPAC also established ties with Orbán, with five annual meetings in Budapest.

Regarding the Free Cities Pact, Schlapp discusses whether European mayors would learn much from their American counterparts given some of the particular problems facing American cities, including violent crime and high homelessness. But he added that if American mayors can use lessons from Europe to build popular support here, that could help.

“My private advice is that they are probably doing the right thing by trying to organize,” Schlapp said.