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Confidence

Although several parties are taking part, the local elections in Antwerp look mostly like a duel, between current socialist mayor Patrick Janssens and challenger Bart De Wever (N-VA), Flanders’ most popular politician by far. Until recently, this match seemed rather one-sided, with De Wever dominating the headlines, if not with his political views than with his spectacular weight-loss. Janssens remained largely absent – literally even, as a back problem kept him home for several weeks. Last week, though, Janssens started his campaign.
Anja Otte
(July 11, 2012)
Steeple chase

School’s out, and one of these days the Flemish Parliament will be closing its doors, too. Not one day too soon, if you ask Flemish MP Eric Van Rompuy of CD&V. Van Rompuy, the younger brother of European president Herman, is one of the Flemish Parliament’s most senior members. After he missed out on a ministerial portfolio in 2004, he took his brother’s advice to “be free”. In practice, this means that he speaks out on his blog whenever he feels like it, even when his party would prefer he didn’t.
Anja Otte
(July 4, 2012)
BHV is split

What a difference a year makes. Last summer, many believed that Belgium was on the verge of breaking up over an obscure issue no-one really grasped to its full extent. In 2012, this very issue, the splitting of the bilingual constituency BHV, which the Flemish have been demanding for decades, is being discussed in parliament, almost without anyone noticing.
Anja Otte
(June 27, 2012)
Leading lady

What a week this was for Annemie Turtelboom of Open VLD. The federal minister for justice came under criticism after she announced that Sharia4Belgium’s Fouad Belkacem, believed to have inspired recent riots in Molenbeek, would have to now serve out an earlier sentence in prison. Arbitrary justice, the man’s lawyers and some members of parliament called this, which Turtelboom refuted immediately. But Turtelboom ended the week with good news, as two new candidates for the Open VLD list in the city of Antwerp were revealed. Police chief Eddy Baelemans and school director Karin Heremans are not just local celebrities, both were also close to Patrick Janssens, who is running for another term as socialist mayor.
Anja Otte
(June 20, 2012)
Public Enemy No. 1

The events in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek last week following the arrest of a woman wearing a niqab are disturbing. Not only was there rioting in the streets, a French extremist travelled all the way to Brussels in order to kill some police officers. (He stabbed two in the metro, before he was arrested.)
Anja Otte
(June 12, 2012)
Oops, she did it again

Oops, she did it again. Ingrid Lieten (SP.A), vice-minister-president has again forwarded a mail with comments about her colleagues in the government of Flanders. Last year, she did the same thing (and something similar happened to minister Philippe Muyters, Budget minister in the same government). The exact content of Lieten’s mail remains unknown, but the fact that this incident was leaked to the press says a lot about the relationships within the Flemish government.
Anja Otte
(June 6, 2012)
The emperor and the beard

Ostend is known as the Queen of Bathing Resorts, but now it turns out it also has an emperor. The Emperor of Ostend is how two VRT journalists refer to Johan Vande Lanotte, the socialist federal minister of economy and the North Sea.
Anja Otte
(May 30, 2012)
Electoral stunts

In election times, all eyes are on Antwerp. Not only is it Flanders’ largest city, it is also the place where new political trends are born. With the local elections in October, there is an extra reason to watch Antwerp: It is the home of Bart De Wever, president of N-VA and Flanders’ most popular politician.
Anja Otte
(May 23, 2012)
In search of a story

There are not that many options for a party that sees its popularity drop. One of them is to sit it out – a cure European Council president Herman Van Rompuy has always believed in. Most of the time, though, parties feel the need to reinvent themselves, as Open VLD attempted at a congress last weekend.
Anja Otte
(May 16, 2012)
Moustaches not obligatory

In the “social elections”, held in all large companies these days, employees decide who will represent them in talks with their employers. The elections, organised every four years, are part ritual, part direct democracy. They illustrate how the Belgian consensus model works: Unions and employer’s organisations are part of the system, rather than opponents, resulting in “social peace”.
Anja Otte
(May 9, 2012)