The reports have often missed the point that, even at its peak – with 24% of the votes – most people in Flanders actively detest the Vlaams Belang. This is not a party like any other, was the phrase often used. Because of its anti-immigrant viewpoints, often bordering on the racist, all other Flemish parties created a cordon sanitaire around the Vlaams Belang, refusing to enter any government with them.
In the past, some slogans have proved their money’s worth at the ballot box. When the Christian Democrats said about Jean-Luc Dehaene that “the trip is long, the guide is experienced”, people believed them. When the stern-looking socialist Louis Tobback called himself “your social security”, the voters agreed. More often than not, though, the slogans could fit any party and are forgotten the minute the elections are over.
The one that made most jaws drop was Siegfried Bracke, Flanders’ best-known political journalist. Currently seen nightly on Terzake, he became famous for his hard-boiled TV interviews, with frequent interruptions whenever he felt questions were left unanswered – although over the past decade he opted for a more light-hearted version of interview.
Right from the start, politicians started picking out scapegoats. The coalition party Open VLD is to blame, some say, because it withdrew its confidence in the federal government. Or the French-speaking liberal MR is at fault for stubbornly refusing to reach any agreement on BHV. Or did the blame lie with Leterme’s own party, CD&V, for stirring up tension with French speakers during its 2007 campaign?
Images of this impromptu singsong were broadcast around the globe, leaving out essential information, such as the loathing of many people – both Flemish and French-speaking – for the views of the Vlaams Belang. From the images, one might also come to believe that far-right party played some role in the events of the past week. But it did not – as it hardly ever does.
Olivier Maingain, president of the militant francophone party FDF, compared this decision with Nazi occupation practices, a remark that caused general indignation on both sides of the language divide.
At around the same time, it became known that some Flemish mayors in the same area had asked property developers not to sell residences to (mostly French-speaking) people from Brussels. Again, this led to a public outcry on both sides of the language divide.
The Flemish government sticks to the rule that it should provide services such as schools, child care, social and cultural provisions for one-third of the population of Brussels. This reflects a spirit of openness: the provisions are not just there for “ethnic” Flemish (they make up less than one-third of the population of Brussels), but for anyone who wishes to make use of them. The idea behind this is that it might result in a more positive attitude towards the Flemish and the Dutch language in general.
There is something funny about all of this. Even the most fervent of Flemish nationalists, like Bart De Wever, do not believe in the big-bang scenario. The ultimate goal of De Wever and his small but influential party N-VA may be the end of Belgium, but De Wever himself sees this happening in an “effervescent tablet scenario” – a slow diluting of the nation rather than a big explosion.
For the first time, though, a number of well-educated and outspoken parents found themselves unable to enroll their children. How is this possible, they cried, in a region that has always prided itself on its education system? How could this happen to us? And just how, De Standaard columnist Tom Naegels wondered, is it possible that every single one of these mothers looks like she could be a graphic designer? The parents we hear, he noted, are the ones with easy access to the media. The ones that used to camp at the school gates because they were aware that this was what it took.
“Freya” is one of those people about whom everyone has an opinion. Her political career got a kick-start after her obvious talent (and model looks) were spotted in a political TV show. She became a federal minister in 2003, only three years after her first steps into the political arena. By 2005, she was the socialist viceprime minister and federal budget minister. Even her own father said that was too much, too soon.
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