Belgium: Speaking the same language

[Harold Schiffman]

Speaking the same language

Far-right party Flemish Interest has called in the services of Dutch
politician Hilbrand Nawijn to solidify its hold on Belgian politics.
What can we expect from this cross-border collaboration? Aaron
Gray-Block reports.


The Flemish Interest is trying to change. It changed its name to
Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) after its predecessor Vlaams Blok
(Flemish Block) was convicted of racism last year. But not everyone is
fooled. Brussels Free University academic and author Hilde Coffé says
the party remains extreme right despite attempts to reposition itself,
such as its plan to unveil a new economic policy directive in
November. She says this repositioning is also evidenced by the fact
party leader Filip Dewinter has started a co-operative relationship
with Dutch populist politician Hilbrand Nawijn

Dewinter and Nawijn — a former immigration minister in the Netherlands
— announced on 20 June they are setting up a cross-border 'think tank'
to defend Dutch culture, which linguistically straddles the
Belgian-Dutch border.It is a ploy, Coffé says, by the Flemish Interest
to legitimise and brand itself as a conservative right party, rather
than extreme right. Up until now, the party has focused on immigration
and security — "normal extreme right issues", she says — but due to
its electorate growth in recent years the party needs to broaden its
policy base. Despite its attempts, however, the Flemish Interest
remains extreme right, Coffé says, pointing out that it tries to
stigmatise Muslims.

The Flemish Interest has accused immigrant youths of vandalising a
cemetery over the Easter weekend, but Sint-Niklaas Mayor Freddy
Willockx said this week the party was lying. Native Flemish youths
carried out the vandalism. And when the Flemish Interest refused to
apologise, Willockx lodged a complaint with anti-racism bureau CGKR.
The CGKR is now threatening the party with another racism lawsuit.

Personal ambitions

Dutch populist politician Nawijn might be trying to rescue his
political future by jumping on board the Flemish Interest train,
Rotterdam Erasmus University academic and author Linze Schaap says.
But the lecturer in public administration also says it is difficult to
gauge Nawijn's motivations. "Very few people know what he is trying to
do," Schaap says. As a one-time government minister with the populist
LPF — founded by Dutch anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn —
Nawijn has watched the party disintegrate since it made a stunning
electoral debut after Fortuyn's assassination in May 2002.

What does Nawijn have in store for the Netherlands? A looming exit
from the Dutch Parliament appears to have prompted Nawijn — who quit
the LPF this week — to jump ship in an attempt to remodel himself as a
leader of the Netherlands.  "Self-interest is an important motive,"
Schaap says of Nawijn's decision to collaborate with Dewinter. He says
the think tank — controversially launched in Fortuyn's house in
Rotterdam despite the fact the LPF founder had refused to work with
Dewinter — attracted a lot of media publicity.

Schaap also says Nawijn could ride the wave of Dutch negativity
towards further European integration; evidenced by the 'no' vote
against the EU Constitution. e might set up his own political party or
link up with right-wing independent MP Geert Wilders to contest the
Dutch national election in 2007.

A joint approach

A Flemish Interest spokesman says Dewinter and Nawijn will write a
book about immigration and integration issues. He says they have
common ideas about how best to tackle such policy areas.

This means preventing the mass immigration of other cultures.

"We are not saying close the borders, but we can protect our culture
and language by not doing it the way we are doing it now," he says.

"Our door in Flanders is open and everyone can come inside. By
allowing the mass immigration of Muslims we are getting a Trojan
horse."

Dewinter protests as Belgian's Prince Laurent arrives at the Flemish Parliament
However, both Nawijn and Dewinter's first priorities will be the Dutch
municipal elections in March 2006, followed by the Belgian equivalent
in October 2006.

Dewinter hopes to be elected mayor of Antwerp and the spokesman is
confident the political scene is swinging in favour of the Flemish
Interest.

He says the 'cordon sanitaire' — an agreement between the traditional
political parties in Belgium not to co-operate with the Flemish
Interest — might soon be dismantled.

Coffé agrees the parties might break the agreement at a local level,
but rules out the possibility of this occurring nationally.

She has also warned against a possible split in the Flemish Interest
as debate continues between more radical elements of the party and
those wanting a more moderate policy base.

Both Coffé and Schaap cast doubt on whether the Flemish Interest will
gather strength in Belgium by linking up with Nawijn, a relative
unknown in Flanders. However, Coffé says the think tank could lead to
a strengthening of policy.

The immediate future

Nawijn and Dewinter initially wanted to name the think tank after
Willem of Orange, considered the father of the Netherlands (which
initially included Belgium) when he led the revolt against Spanish
rulers in the 16th Century.

However, the Dutch royal family knocked that plan on the head and the
two politicians changed the name to Marnix van Sint Aldegonde, who was
mayor of Antwerp and sided with William of Orange in the war against
the Spanish.

The aim is to promote Dutch culture and stimulate debate on
immigration, but the Flemish Interest spokesman emphatically denied
talk of a new cross-border political party.

Nevertheless, he is emboldened by the political shift witnessed in the
Netherlands after the emergence of Fortuyn. He says Fortuyn opened the
eyes of many people in a nation once considered a multicultural
success story.

And it is not unlikely that a new political party will be set up in
the Netherlands, where Nawijn might seek to emulate the heights
reached by Fortuyn.

He has even placed on his website the slogan made famous by Fortuyn:
"At your service". But that service is not terribly swift: Nawijn
failed to reply to any questions lodged by this reporter.

It seems he was too busy thinking.

29 June 2005
http://old.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=48&story_id=21503


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