Vooruit rewarded for government participation in new poll, Open VLD sinks further
Vooruit's decision to enter the government is currently paying off electorally, shows a poll commissioned by VRT NWS, De Standaard and RTBF. N-VA remains by far the largest party in Flanders. Open VLD sinks further and only just managed to pass the electoral threshold.
Almost a year after the elections, the De Stemming poll examines the political preferences of Belgians. De Stemming is an annual survey commissioned by VRT NWS, De Standaard and RTBF and conducted by the University of Antwerp and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The survey was conducted in March 2025.
At 14.8 per cent, Vooruit is doing better than in the elections. The Flemish socialists seem to be rewarded by voters for their participation in government, despite the many cuts announced by the De Wever government. So the gamble of being the only left-wing party to enter the government is currently working out well.
N-VA obtained 26.9 per cent and continues to lead the rankings as Flanders' largest party. Vlaams Belang is thus unable to capitalise on the dissatisfaction with, for example, the pension reform of the De Wever government, although it is still the second-largest Flemish party. CD&V’s score remains relatively stable, just as those of opposition parties PVDA and Groen.
There was again bad news for Open VLD: the party only reached 5.3 per cent, a lot less than the 8.7 per cent at last year's elections. As a result, the Flemish liberals are only just above the electoral threshold and are the smallest in Flanders. Party leader Eva De Bleeker is however not yet thinking of quitting and is asking for more time to rebuild the party.
Wallonia and Brussels
The picture in French-speaking Belgium shows a decline for MR and slight progress for PS and PVDA. A year after MR's solid election victory, socialist party PS in Wallonia again emerges as the largest with 21.6 per cent, while the liberals of MR drop to 21.3 per cent. Les Engagés, MR's coalition partner south of the linguistic border, also drops – to 17.8 per cent.
In Brussels, the failure to form a government has little impact on electoral intentions on the French-speaking side. MR remains the largest ahead of PVDA and PS, followed at a distance by Les Engagés and Ecolo, while DéFI dives below the electoral threshold. On the Dutch-speaking side, N-VA jumps over Groen to first place.
Popular prime minister
Prime minister Bart De Wever is by far the most popular politician in the country. In Flanders, 22.1 per cent say they feel best represented by De Wever. Remarkably, as a Flemish nationalist, De Wever also scores well outside Flanders. In Wallonia, he is only preceded by Raoul Hedebouw of PVDA and Georges-Louis Bouchez of MR. In Brussels, only Hedebouw scores better.
#FlandersNewsService | Party leader Conner Rousseau and Flemish minister Melissa Depraetere at a meeting of Flemish socialist party Vooruit © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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