A municipal coalition agreement in Belgium between a local party, the STiP+, and the hard-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang Party has been cancelled amid reports of physical threats.
Members of the STiP+ in Izegem, West Flanders, reportedly received menaces “which have a heavy impact on the professional and family lives of our mandate holders”, the party said on October 28.
There were also other threats, it said, including mandate holders losing their jobs or professional contracts.
“We care about the safety and well-being of our people,” the party said.
The group, which won the latest municipal elections, said it still aimed to be part of the local governing majority. Its list leader, Kurt Grymonprez, who received the most votes, expressed his continued desire to become mayor of Izegem.
Vlaams Belang reacted with outrage.
“This jeopardises democracy,” said party national chairman Tom Van Grieken. “An atmosphere of intimidation, threats to livelihoods and even physical violence has been created here. Every democrat must speak today and strongly condemn this.
“This is a slap in the face of our democracy. The establishment parties clinging to the cordon and demonising Vlaams Belang are responsible for this atmosphere of intimidation,” he said.
“In recent weeks, we’ve seen various forms of intimidation, including from [the Liberal] Open Vld, [the Christian Democrat] CD&V, and [the right-wing] N-VA.
“We expect these parties to strongly condemn what is happening today. In a democracy, it should be completely normal for winning parties to form alliances,” Van Grieken stated.
Vlaams Belang Izegem said it would file a complaint against unknown persons for harassment and threats of physical violence.
“We cannot just let this pass and give into intimidation,” said Sam Weyts, leader of Vlaams Belang Izegem.
On the evening of October 30, the party will hold a protest in Izegem.
SPOEDBETOGING. Verdedig mee onze democratie tegen fysiek geweld, intimidatie, broodroof… en kom naar de protestactie in #Izegem. We mogen nooit tolereren dat de democratie onder druk komt te staan door allerlei weerzinwekkende bedreigingen. Afspraak op woensdag 30 oktober om… pic.twitter.com/eXKgDMjhHp
— Vlaams Belang (@vlbelang) October 28, 2024
In a first reaction, outgoing city mayor Bert Maertens, who lost the election, said he had seen it coming.
Speaking about working with Vlaams Belang, Maertens said: “Before you do something like that, it is best to reflect on that. What did they think, that it would just pass? But I am especially happy for the city of Izegem that the agreement was blown up, because it was mostly a bad thing for our city in general.”
Later, he issued a more nuanced statement, saying he was initially surprised by the announcement of the agreement — and then further surprised by its cancellation.
Maertens said he condemned the threats against STiP+ members. “Such practices are disgusting. Freedom of expression and a political belief, even if it is not mine, should never lead to intimidation, threats or violence,” he said.
“We should never accept this as a society. Never.”
He claimed that he had been the victim of threats as well, when he served as mayor, and had filed a complaint at the time.
Maertens said he would try to form a new majority and talk with other parties but stated he would not speak further until there was a final agreement.
In the municipal elections of October in Belgium, Vlaams Belang scored well.
For decades, other parties had refused to work with it, accusing it of being far-right and anti-democratic.
The term “cordon sanitaire” was specifically coined for this purpose by the Greens in the 1990s, aimed at isolating Vlaams Belang’s predecessor Vlaams Blok. It meant that all other political parties, as well as the media, refrained from treating the party and its representatives as a legitimate political force.
When Vlaams Blok changed into Vlaams Belang, the other parties kept the cordon sanitaire in place.
The party has since grown and become less unpalatable – in the eyes of the electorate at least – and in October, Vlaams Belang scored its first significant success by gaining an absolute majority in Ninove, east Flanders.
In the Ranst municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp, other local parties decided to form a coalition with Vlaams Belang, formally breaking the cordon sanitaire for the first time.
Izegem followed suit a little later, until STiP+ pulled out.
University of Gent professor of Labour Economics, Stijn Baert, noted on X that it was “completely illegal” for employers to fire employees who co-operated with Vlaams Belang but added that a study he had worked on showed that people who were publicly connected with Vlaams Belang”face disadvantages”.
BREAKING: The #NatConBrussels2 event hosting Europe's most prominent conservative politicians is being shut down by the authorities after receiving an order from the left-wing local mayor.
Organisers tell us they have 15 minutes to shut down the event. Police are on the scene.… pic.twitter.com/GqTo2MLPB4
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 16, 2024
