A Keynote Speaker Without a Platform
CPAC Belgrade was set for November 18 in the Serbian capital, and Vučić was lined up to deliver the keynote speech. Then the vote in October changed everything. Vučić had stepped down as president to run for prime minister, but a political movement that grew out of student-led anti-corruption protests across the country beat him at the ballot box.

The timing has raised eyebrows. Still, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp has dismissed any link between the two events. Speaking to the independent Serbian platform Insajder, he said the organizers simply aimed too high. "We were overly ambitious in thinking we could hold it in November," he explained, adding that the group looks forward to an impactful conference next year.

What CPAC Wanted in the Balkans
When it announced the plan in October, CPAC said it wanted to build a presence in southeastern Europe. The group described the region as Europe's most strategically important, and it hoped to grow its network of conservative leaders opposed to globalism and the radical left. Energy was expected to top the agenda in Belgrade.

This would not have been CPAC's first step abroad. Besides its main yearly gathering in the United States, which has hosted Donald Trump and other leading MAGA figures, the organization has held events in Italy, Brazil, Israel and Japan. It has also visited Hungary, where populist leader Viktor Orbán is a regular guest.