For years, N-VA’s rise – recent
polls show 35% support among
voters – has left other parties
like deer caught in the headlights.
They are absolutely transfixed
by the nationalists’ success.
In preparation for the 2014
elections, though, most parties
are changing strategies: Instead
of trying to respond to N-VA, they
are looking at themselves.
Semantics matter, especially
in politics. Take the word
“confederalism”. Almost every
Flemish party has a different
definition of what this precisely
means. (Especially the ones that
support said confederalism.)
There is a Rule for compromises
in a coalition government:
There cannot be a loser. If
one party feels it loses out
in an all-too-obvious way, a
compromise (and the coalition
itself) becomes impossible. This
is exactly what is happening to
the government of Flanders, as
it tries to reshape the secondary
education system.
N-VA remains Flanders’ most
popular party, a recent poll
shows. With 32% of respondents
calling N-VA their party of
choice, it in fact towers over the
rest. The Christian-democrat
CD&V came in second with just
17%.
One of Flanders’ most popular
TV programmes is Wat als?
(What If?), a sketch comedy
show that explores what might
happen in a number of absurd
situations: What if everyone
was blind? What if we all looked
the same? What if Superman
got irritated quickly?
Reconstructions are a popular
genre in political reporting.
Sometimes, the past may be
relevant in the present, as a
recent documentary by VRT
journalist Ivan De Vadder
shows.
Christian-democrats have a
reputation for being woolly. As a
people’s party, almost always in
power, CD&V’s views are often
a compromise, with plenty of
nuance. Its leaders are often
mocked for this, especially when
they use phrases such as “on the
one hand, on the other hand”.
Every now and then, parties
feel the need to “re-invent”
themselves, with a new take
on their old ideologies. The
socialist SP.A is in the middle
of such a transformation. At a
party congress in June, it will
present a new manifesto for the
years to come. Social equality
and diversity will be important
parts of this.
The main task of Belgium’s
Constitutional Court is to ensure
that human rights are respected.
Marc Bossuyt, the president
of the court, once complained
that people feel discriminated
against too easily. Asked
whether Belgium is still guilty
of any grave discrimination, he
mentioned one instance.
“Oh Vilvoorde City, more
specifically in the Far West.”
In 1975, singer Kris De Bruyne
described the Flemish Brabant
town as if it was located in the
Far West. Actually, Far West is
a district in Vilvoorde, but the
lyrics were also a reference to
the town’s working man’s image.
These days, Vilvoorde again
seems a bit of a rough spot,
as home of many of the
mujahideen who have left
Flanders to fight in Syria.
Flanders Today is a 
