Elections 2024: Vlaams Belang must make it on its own or not at all

Will the extreme right in Flanders finally get executive power after the 13 October elections? Vlaams Belang is confident that in the small city of Ninove, at least, it will get enough votes to be indispensable. Their first ever executive mandate would then be as mayor.

The extreme right has been a factor in politics in Flanders for half a century, first under the name Vlaams Blok, and, after a conviction for racism, as Vlaams Belang. More than 30 years ago, the party was so important that all other parties promised a “cordon sanitaire”: they will never enter a coalition with Vlaams Belang, as its values and goals are too different from theirs to ever allow compromise.

In recent years, there have been signals that the cordon sanitaire would not hold. The doubts mostly concern N-VA, another right-wing Flemish nationalist party. Leader Bart De Wever, however, says he will never accept coalitions with Vlaams Belang.

This makes it impossible for Vlaams Belang to enter into a federal or regional government. But at the local level, it could be different. It’s possible Vlaams Belang will get more than 50 per cent of the vote in Ninove or elsewhere, with its programme against migration and crime and in favour of cars.

Remarkably, the party is standing under a different name in Ninove: Forza Ninove, a reference to the populist party of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The federal and regional elections of 9 June were a major success for Vlaams Belang, as they became the biggest party in 165 of 300 municipalities. Being the biggest is not the same as an absolute majority in most cases. But in Ninove, an absolute majority is very possible.

Local elections will take place at municipal and provincial levels in Belgium on Sunday 13 October. In the run-up to the vote, Belga English explores the main issues to watch out for and provides a daily overview of events.

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