More than eight parties are taking part in the Flemish regional elections this year, and seven of them stand a good chance of getting representatives elected. This trend worries some observers, as it makes it harder to form a stable coalition government, which generally needs at least three parties to gain a majority.

The three traditional parties in the race are Christian democrats, socialists and liberals. The 1980s and ’90s saw the rise of two new parties: the greens and the extreme-right Vlaams Blok (now called Vlaams Belang). At the turn of the century, the more moderate nationalist Volksunie fell apart, leaving the N-VA and SLP as remnants of this party. Lijst Dedecker is relatively new and is participating in regional elections for the first time this June.

“Strong in hard times”: CD&V

The Christian-democrats are deeply rooted in Flemish civil society, although possibly less so in the larger cities. Five years ago, CD&V presented itself to the voters as a serious alternative to the rather frivolous “purple” (liberal and socialist) government. CD&V formed a cartel with N-VA, with the still virgin Yves Leterme as its leader. With 26% of the votes, CD&V/N-VA was considered the winner of the election.

Now, 20% is deemed a good result, with the cartel no longer extant and only a minor role left for Yves Leterme, who has become a lot more controversial since his short stint as prime minister. Moreover, CD&V could not keep to its promise of an institutional “big bang”. But CD&V has an excellent trump card: Kris Peeters, the Flemish minister-president, who did quite a good job during the current administration and has no real rivals. The party slogan reads “strong in hard times”.

Digging for the message: Open VLD

The campaign so far has been disastrous for Open VLD. It started off well, with full media exposure for Guy Verhofstadt, the charismatic former prime minister, and his new vision on Europe. This all fell to pieces, however, when an agreement between Open VLD president Bart Somers and LDD defector Dirk Vijnck became public. Vijnck, a complete incompetent, was promised another term in parliament or a “well-paid cabinet position”. This was enormously damaging to Bart Somers, who already lacked credibility – and then Vijnck went back to LDD.

Thrown into a panic, the party now points to the many virtues of Dirk Van Mechelen, minister of finance (and one of two vice-minister-presidents) in the Flemish government for more than 10 years. “Who is he?” is what most people ask, despite that decade in the job. Meanwhile, very little attention goes to the liberals’ free market message of lowering taxes, encouraging businesses and a green economy.

Generation gap: SP.A

The socialists have been in disarray for quite some time now. Under party president Caroline Gennez, SP.A is going through a generation split. Its left wing feels ignored, while the older generation found a (very temporary) name change – after Bert Anciaux joined its ranks – too hard to swallow. SP.A also has to balance being an opposition party on the federal level and a reliable government partner on the Flemish level.

Its main figure is Frank Vandenbroucke, labour and education minister (and the other vice-minister-president), definitely more of a government than an opposition man. SP.A wants to counter the economic crisis with a “daring plan” to invest in schools, hospitals and nursing homes, as well as public transport and windmills to supply alternative energy. It is set to lose, though, and hopes for 16%, or 3% less than in 2004.

Celebrity boosted: N-VA

After the break up with CD&V, this is the chance for the small nationalist party N-VA to show what it is worth. It has struggled to get above the electoral threshold of 5% before, but this seems to be less of problem now, with polls at around 7%.

The most important issue for N-VA is institutional change, with more power for Flanders. In this respect, it is “purer” than CD&V, which is more willing to compromise in talks with the French-speakers. As a result, the cartel between the two parties broke up, and N-VA minister Geert Bourgeois last year resigned from the Flemish government. N-VA party president Bart De Wever has recently become surprisingly popular, after he got to show his witty side in TV brains quiz show De Slimste mens ter wereld.

Party of one: Groen!

Everyone wants to be green these days, but that does not necessarily mean the Greens will do well at the ballot box. Party president Mieke Vogels dreams of a 10% result for Groen!, similar to that of its francophone counterpart Ecolo, but 7% looks more likely. Vogels herself is the only well-known Groen! candidate, as most other greens in the Flemish Parliament have for various reasons decided not to stand for this election. Then again, people who vote green rarely do so because of the candidates. The ecological program is usually the main motivation. Aside from its classic ecological demands, Groen! also proposes a 32-hour working week.

Whose country? Vlaams Belang

The radical right-wing Vlaams Belang rarely loses an election, as it has been growing in strength for many years. In 2004, it scored a historical 24% of the vote. This time, though, the trend may be curbed. Because of its anti-immigrant views, the other parties have always banned Vlaams Belang from government. It was hoped that this “cordon sanitaire” might make it less attractive, but the opposite was true.

Now, for the first time, Vlaams Belang finds it hard to present itself as an alternative to traditional parties. There is simply too much competition. Lijst Dedecker is just as anti-establishment, while N-VA is just as nationalist, without the racist undertones. To counter this, Vlaams Belang reverts to the theme that has always been successful for the party: immigrants and Islam. Its slogan: “This is our country”.

Melting pot of parties: LDD

Lijst Dedecker dominates this campaign. Its founder Jean-Marie Dedecker arouses strong feelings: lots of people love him, but even more loathe this loudmouth, who is often accused of populism. Dedecker started his own party in 2006 after he was kicked out of Open VLD – the party he is forever fighting. (He even hired a private detective to look in Open VLD minister Karel De Gucht’s private finances). When defector Dirk Vijnck returned to LDD earlier this month shortly after he had left for Open VLD, this caused even more damage to the latter.

LDD has attracted intellectuals like Professor Boudewijn Bouckaert and former journalist Derk-Jan Eppink, who support its “minimal state” message. However, a lot of opportunists joined LDD, too, which has caused turbulence in party ranks. In the 2007 federal elections LDD surprised everyone by getting five candidates elected. Now a score of around 15% is predicted. At this moment, LDD has three representatives in the Flemish parliament, all of whom have defected from other parties.

But wait! There’s more

Amongst the other, smaller parties, SLP is the most notable. The Sociaal-Liberale Partij is what was left of Spirit after the cartel with SP.A went bust and most of its members decided to join the socialists. SLP has a broad programme that appeals to a lot of people. But the chances it will get into the Flemish parliament are slim. Ask anyone about its leader Geert Lambert, and they will tell you about his spectacular weight loss, while only very few people can name his party. SLP has two representatives in the Flemish Parliament, but one of them has decided she is leaving politics.

Then there is PVDA, the Flemish equivalent of the Socialist Workers Party, yet another party that seems unable to break through the electoral threshold of 5%. PVDA gained itself attention in the campaign with its posters showing N-VA celebrity Bart De Wever, former prime minister Yves Leterme and prime minister Herman Van Rompuy with red clowns’ noses, under the headline “Stop the Political Circus”. The PVDA candidate that has attracted the most attention is Tine Van Rompuy, the sister of the prime minister and of MP Eric Van Rompuy – both CD&V.

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