It’s only four words, but they reveal everything - “I love Viktor Orbán.” With this sentence, Alice Weidel, chairwoman of the AfD parliamentary group, finally dropped the last remnants of her democratic mask at this year’s CPAC 2025 in Budapest. The stage - a right-wing carnival of authoritarian self-adoration. The backdrop - Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, where press freedom is a shadow and opposition a risk.
Weidel appeared where the international right has gathered for years to perform its vision of “freedom” in a mix of self-victimization, chauvinism, and a permanent trance of conspiracy ideology - a freedom defined primarily by the exclusion of others.
And then there was the interview partner - AUF1 TV, an Austrian conspiracy channel notorious for anti-vaccine propaganda, far-right narratives, and systematic disinformation. It was precisely here that Alice Weidel seemed to feel at home.
“I’m here to tell people what’s really going on in Germany,” she declared beneath the logo of a broadcaster that seriously fantasizes about the existence of a “new world order.”
And what, according to Weidel, is “going on” in Germany? Apparently nothing more than the myth that the media are being “bought” by the government in order to suppress coverage of the “situation of the AfD.” What situation, exactly - perhaps the 24/7 victimhood narrative or the record number of investigations into AfD officials? - remains unclear. One thing is certain - in Weidel’s worldview, Hungary is a “bridgehead of freedom,” Orbán is a “good man,” and CPAC is a place where she can “finally speak freely.” Free from facts, free from accountability.
“Orbán has a compass for everyone,” says Weidel. A sentence one can only hope is a mistranslation from authoritarianism.
This was Weidel’s first appearance on a CPAC stage - and at the same time a confession - to Trump, to Orbán, to an illiberal model of society that has nothing left to do with democracy. That she chose AUF1 as the platform for this confession is no coincidence. It is a signal to those who already live in a parallel world where facts are negotiable and freedom only applies to those who belong.
The real message of this appearance? It reads - “We are willing to make common cause with anyone who shares our authoritarian dreams.” Whether that is still political communication or already ideological incitement - history will decide.
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