The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an event highly important to U.S. Republicans, is reportedly planning an expansion into Germany. George Weinberg, who represents U.S. Republicans in Germany and is involved in the conference organization, confirmed the news in an interview with T-Online. While he noted that the organizers are currently in the early, organizational stages and cannot provide details, Weinberg stressed that “CPAC Germany” is designed to be “a decidedly non-partisan, civilly-conservative forum” and explicitly stated that neither the AfD nor any other party will be involved.
CPAC has been held in the United States since 1973. Historically, it annual organizes support for leading figures of the U.S. Republican Party, most recently heavily focusing on Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. The conference has evolved into an international gathering for the global right, previously hosting events for figures such as Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Javier Milei in Argentina, and Mateusz Morawiecki in Poland.
The expansion into Germany has generated significant political commentary. MEP Petr Bystron of the AfD told T-Online that there is “great interest…. on both German and American sides” to host a CPAC in Germany, suggesting that discussions are “well advanced”. Bystron sees this as an opportunity to strengthen the entire conservative camp in Germany, interpreting the event as a potential enhancement to the relationship between Republicans and the AfD.
Despite the official pronouncements of non-partisanship, specific details have shown party ties. Weinberg was previously announced as a speaker representing “CPAC Germany” back in March. Furthermore, Arian Aghashahi-the manager of the AfD’s “Sovereignty Foundation” and leader of the ESN group in the European Parliament-was slated to be featured as a secondary speaker for “CPAC Germany”. Notably, while Alice Weidel, a co-spokeswoman for the AfD, was listed among the speakers during the international editions in Hungary and Poland, representatives from Germany’s other major political parties were not listed.
