European conservatives hailed the life and work of assassinated political organiser and free speech advocate Charlie Kirk overnight, and decried the “utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument”.
31-year-old Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed in what President Donald Trump called an assassination at a debate event in Utah on Wednesday, and European sovereigntists, conservatives, and political leaders have responded with messages of support for the family he leaves behind, and disdain for political violence.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who helped Kirk launch the British offshoot of Turning Point in 2019 wrote of the slaying that “This is a very dark day for American democracy” and that he felt “desperately sad” for Kirk and his family. Speaking on GB News, where Farage has an evening talk show, he further added: “I met Charlie Kirk 10 years ago.
“I knew Charlie Kirk, I had been to his studios in Arizona and I spoke at Turning Point rallies… I was with him in London trying to get Turning Point UK off the ground. I went on his radio show on a regular basis.”
Of his work, Farage continued: “He was an enormous voice, and Trump regarded Charlie very highly indeed… for a young man he made a massive impression and was an important part of reviving, in young people in America, belief in very good values”.
As for what comes next, Farage said: “It’s a very, very dark day for American democracy, Western democracy, free speech. And I know what will come after this will be a lot of fingers pointed at those who screamed at those on the right as being ‘neo-nazi’ and beneath contempt, but I think for now I just want to remember a friend, the most extraordinary political influencer in America over the past decade. A remarkable man”.
Farage warned that while the U.S. is bitterly divided, the United Kingdom is “not far behind” and that there are “voices of intolerance” who “wish to shut down free speech” who are “very dangerous”.
Former British Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson also spoke out, hailing “a shining new martyr to free speech” and saying that Kirk had been killed because of his “courage”. He wrote: “The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument.
“Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views – because he didn’t. He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain.”
Figures from the UK’s present left-wing government also contributed remarks, including the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper who both expressed sympathy with Kirk’s family, with PM Starmer adding: “We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear – there can be no justification for political violence.”
Turning Point UK hit back at these comments, however, stating members of Starmer’s left-wing government have previously contributed to the climate of animosity surrounding Charlie Kirk’s initiatives, with the now-Deputy Prime Minister having called the launch of Turning Point UK in 2019 evidence of “sinister forces… taking hold of our country.”
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — an ally of President Trump who was the only European political leader present at the Rotunda during his second inauguration — expressed her shock at an “atrocious murder”. She called the killing a “deep wound for democracy and for those who believe in freedom” and expressed condolences to Kirk’s family and the American conservative community.
Another friend to Trump’s America, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, compared the killing to the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last year. Fico was shot at close range by a gunman who said he acted on behalf of Ukraine, given his government refused to send military aid to the country.
Orban said: “Yesterday, we lost a true defender of faith and freedom. Our deepest condolences go to the Kirk family and to the American people. Charlie Kirk’s death is the result of the international hate campaign waged by the progressive-liberal left.”
He added: “We must stop the hatred! We must stop the hate-mongering left!”.
Other populist-sovereigntist politicians also expressed their condolences. In Germany, Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) leader Alice Weidel lionised “a fighter for freedom of speech” who was “shot by a fanatic who hates our way of life and discussion”.
In France, National Rally leader and possible next French President Jordan Bardella noted that the “dehumanizing rhetoric of the left and its intolerance fuels political violence. No one can ignore this poison that is eating away at our democratic societies.”
This story is developing, more follows
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