4.I.3. Het Vlaams Belang En De Media

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

4.I.3. Het Vlaams Belang En De Media UNIVERSITEIT GENT FACULTEIT POLITIEKE EN SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN DE POLITIEKE MARKETINGSTRATEGIE VAN EXTREEM- RECHTS: COMMUNICATIE- EN DISTRIBUTIEKANALEN, CONCEPT EN STRATEGIE VAN HET VLAAMS BELANG IN HET HUIDIGE POLITIEKE EN MEDIALANDSCHAP. EEN EMPIRISCHE STUDIE. Wetenschappelijke verhandeling aantal woorden: 24.851 ELINE DHAEN MASTERPROEF COMMUNICATIEWETENSCHAPPEN afstudeerrichting COMMUNICATIEMANAGEMENT PROMOTOR: PROF. DR. DIRK VOORHOOF COMMISSARIS: DR. HANNES CANNIE COMMISSARIS: DR. OLIVIER DRIESSENS ACADEMIEJAAR 2008 - 2009 Abstract In deze scriptie bespreken we de politieke marketingstrategie van de extreemrechtse partij Vlaams Belang. Aan de hand van een kwalitatieve multimethodische casestudy gaan we na welke communicatie- en distributiekanalen de partij gebruikt en hoe haar concept en strategie eruit zien. Deze informatie kaderen we telkens in het huidige Vlaams politieke en medialandschap. Het overkoepelende beeld dat we trachten aan te reiken geeft deze scriptie haar wetenschappelijke relevantie. Onze resultaten wijzen er immers op dat er een interactie-effect waarneembaar is tussen de positionering van de partij en de communicatieoutput die zij aanreikt. Het communicatiegebeuren wordt binnen het Vlaams Belang overigens zeer strikt aan banden gelegd, en verloopt – zeker in vergelijking met de andere partijen – hoofdzakelijk via de partijleden zelf. Externe hulpbronnen worden slechts sporadisch en meestal onofficieel geraadpleegd. Op politiek niveau zit het Vlaams Belang bevangen in het zogenaamde cordon sanitaire. Geen enkele partij wil een regering vormen met het VB, wat van de partij nog meer een underdog maakt. Dit past perfect in de sterke antipolitieke houding en de populistische koers die het Vlaams Belang vaart. In haar communicatie naar het publiek toe zal zij dan ook regelmatig verwijzen naar deze „één tegen allen‟-positie. Binnen het medialandschap spreekt het VB van een cordon médiatique. De partij vindt dat ze moeilijker toegang krijgt tot de traditionele massamedia en minder aan bod komt dan de andere partijen. Dit zal zich uiten in haar communicatiestrategie: om de aandacht van de media te trekken zal het Vlaams Belang andere middelen aanwenden, zoals het organiseren van acties en het verspreiden van provocerende uitlatingen. Anderzijds zullen er andere propagandamiddelen gebruikt worden, zoals de VL-krant, wegens de permanente weigering van kranten en weekbladen om VB-advertenties te publiceren. We bemerken dat de representativiteit van ons onderzoek niet gegarandeerd kan worden. We laten het over aan de lezer om zelf onze conclusies te beoordelen. 2 Inhoudsopgave 1. Inleiding ................................................................................................................................. 5 2. Methodologisch kader .......................................................................................................... 8 2.I Onderzoeksmethode .......................................................................................................... 8 2.II Materiaalselectie en waarnemingsinstrument .................................................................. 8 3. Het Vlaams Belang ............................................................................................................. 15 3.I. De partij ......................................................................................................................... 15 3.I.1. Van Vlaams Blok naar Vlaams Belang .................................................................. 15 3.I.2. Ontstaan, groei en doorbraak van het Vlaams Blok ............................................... 15 3.I.3. Identiteit, waarden en normen van het VB ............................................................. 17 3.II. Het Vlaams Belang in het huidige Vlaamse politieke landschap ................................. 19 4. Communicatie- en distributiekanalen .............................................................................. 21 4.I. Politiek en media: Politieke berichtgeving en free publicity ......................................... 21 4.I.1. Het verband tussen mediaverschijningen en electorale successen ......................... 21 4.I.2. Agendasetting rond politieke berichtgeving ........................................................... 22 4.I.3. Het Vlaams Belang en de media ............................................................................. 24 4.II. Betaalde of zelf verkregen publiciteit ........................................................................... 28 4.II.1. Propaganda gebruikt voor de verkiezingscampagne van 2007.............................. 29 4.III. Vrijwilligers- en militantenwerk ................................................................................. 33 5. Structuur en organisatie van het communicatiegebeuren .............................................. 35 5.I. Structuur en organisatie: algemeen ................................................................................ 35 5.I.1. CD&V ..................................................................................................................... 35 5.I.2. N-VA ....................................................................................................................... 35 5.I.3. Open-VLD .............................................................................................................. 36 5.I.4. Sp.a – Spirit ............................................................................................................. 37 5.I.5. Groen! ..................................................................................................................... 37 5.I.6. Lijst Dedecker ......................................................................................................... 38 5.II. Structuur en organisatie: Het Vlaams Belang ............................................................... 38 5.II.1. Organisatie van de interne communicatie.............................................................. 38 3 5.II.2. Organisatie van de externe communicatie ............................................................. 39 5.II.3. Andere diensten met betrekking tot communicatie ............................................... 43 6. Product, strategie en concept ............................................................................................ 44 6.I. Brede omkadering van de verkiezingen van 10 juni 2007 ............................................. 44 6.II. Product .......................................................................................................................... 46 6.III. Positionering- en segmenteringstrategie ..................................................................... 47 6.III.1. Positionering ......................................................................................................... 47 6.III.2. Segmentering en doelgroepenbeleid .................................................................... 48 6.IV. Concept, lay-out en vorm ............................................................................................ 49 6.IV.1. Persoonlijke stijl ................................................................................................... 49 6.IV.2. Stijl van de Vlaams Belangpropaganda ............................................................... 50 7. Conclusie ............................................................................................................................. 66 Bibliografie .............................................................................................................................. 71 Bijlagen .................................................................................................................................... 80 Bijlage 1: Interview met Pieter Knapen ............................................................................... 81 Bijlage 2: Interview met Arnout Collier .............................................................................. 84 Bijlage 3: Interview met Frans Wymeersch ......................................................................... 95 Bijlage 4: Interview met Wim Wienen .............................................................................. 100 Bijlage 5: Interview met Jeroen Overmeer (N-VA) ........................................................... 110 Bijlage 6: Interview met Tom Van den Bergh ................................................................... 122 Bijlage 7: Interview met Piet Deslé en Joeri Casteleyn ..................................................... 127 Bijlage 8: Interview met Jos Stassen (groen!) .................................................................... 132 Bijlage 9: Interview met Aubry Cornelis ........................................................................... 135 Bijlage 10: Interview met Johan Van Hoecke .................................................................... 142 Bijlage 11: Interview met Filip Dewinter .......................................................................... 148 Bijlage 12: Campagnedraaiboek wetgevende verkiezingen 11 juni 2007 ......................... 154 4 1. Inleiding Van politiek kunnen we vandaag de dag veel verwachten, maar af en toe gebeurt er iets dat ons toch oprecht verbaast. In ons geval zijn dat de krasse uitspraken en opvallende stunts die onze veelbesproken extreemrechtse partij, het Vlaams Belang, telkens weer de wereld instuurt. Vanuit die verwondering ontstond de aanleiding tot dit onderzoek. Toch situeert de daadwerkelijke relevantie
Recommended publications
  • JAARVERSLAG 2004 En 2004-2005 Missieverklaring
    JAARVERSLAG 2004 en 2004-2005 Missieverklaring Het Vlaams Parlement belichaamt de wetgevende pijler en de democratie in Vlaanderen. Het staat in voor de tot- standkoming van de Vlaamse decreten en voor de goed- keuring van de Vlaamse begroting. Het Vlaams Parlement benoemt de Vlaamse Regering en controleert de Vlaamse Regering op de uitvoering van die decreten. Het Vlaams Parlement wil het centrum van een demo- cratisch Vlaanderen zijn en de burgers nauw bij de poli- tieke besluitvorming betrekken, en streeft daartoe naar maximale transparantie en optimale communicatie. Het wil een modern parlement zijn dat slagvaardig, vooruit- ziend en dynamisch werkt, op basis van de principes van effectiviteit, efficiëntie en zuinigheid. Door het uitdragen en aanmoedigen van burgerzin wil het Vlaams Parlement het democratisch draagvlak van de samenleving versterken en Vlaanderen profileren als een moderne, vooruitstrevende, verdraagzame en soli- daire Europese regio. VLAAMS PARLEMENT JAARVERSLAG 2004 en 2004-2005 3 INHOUD JAARVERSLAG 2004 en 2004-2005 Voorwoord 9 HOOFDSTUK I : SAMENSTELLING EN LEIDING VAN HET VLAAMS PARLEMENT 11 1. 124 rechtstreeks verkozen Vlaamse volksvertegenwoordigers 11 1.1 Op 6 juli 2004 11 1.2 Wijzigingen tijdens de zitting 2004 11 1.3 Wijzigingen tijdens de zitting 2004-2005 13 2. De leiding van het Vlaams Parlement : voorzitter, Bureau en Uitge- breid Bureau 13 2.1 Bureau en Uitgebreid Bureau: samenstelling en vergaderfre- quentie 13 2.2 De politieke leiding van het Vlaams Parlement (Uitgebreid Bureau) 14 2.3 Het algemeen beheer van het Vlaams Parlement (Bureau) 15 3. Het beleidsplan van de voorzitter: de verdere ontwikkeling van een eigentijds Vlaams Parlement 15 HOOFDSTUK II : DE POLITIEKE ACTIVITEITEN VAN HET VLAAMS PARLEMENT 25 1.
    [Show full text]
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
    [Show full text]
  • Belgian Identity Politics: at a Crossroad Between Nationalism and Regionalism
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2014 Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism Jose Manuel Izquierdo University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Human Geography Commons Recommended Citation Izquierdo, Jose Manuel, "Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2871 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Jose Manuel Izquierdo entitled "Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geography. Micheline van Riemsdijk, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Derek H. Alderman, Monica Black Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jose Manuel Izquierdo August 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Jose Manuel Izquierdo All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Significant Breakthrough by the Far Right in Flanders, Victory for The
    PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN BELGIUM 26th May 2019 European Significant breakthrough Elections monitor by the far right in Flanders, victory for the Socialist Party in Corinne Deloy Wallonia and Brussels: Belgium divided more than ever before Results The Belgian general election took place on 26th May revealing a greatly divided country. The far-right made a significant breakthrough in Flanders came first in the election despite a loss of seats: 20[1] in the shape of the Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest, VB), (- 3). It came out ahead of the Reform Movement (MR), a party chaired by Tom Van Grieken. Although the New a liberal party led by outgoing Prime Minister Charles Alliance (N-VA), a nationalist party chaired by Bart de Michel, which recorded a loss of support, winning 14 Wever, is still the region’s leading party with 25 seats, it seats (- 6); Ecolo, a party led co-led by Zakia Khattabi lost some seats however (-8 seats in comparison with the and Jean-Marc Nollet, won 13 seats (+ 7) and the Labour previous parliamentary elections on 25th May 2014) and Party, making strong progress, won 12 seats (+10). failed to rise above the 30% vote threshold. The Vlaams The Humanist Democratic Centre (cDH), led by Maxime Belang came second with 18 seats (+15). Prévot, came fifth (5 MPs, - 4). The Christian Democratic Party (CD&V), led by Wouter In Brussels, the socialists also came out ahead, just in 1. Here the number Beke, came third, but with fewer seats: 12 MPs (-6). front of the French-speaking ecologists who witnessed a of seats and for the following parties is Then come the Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD), a sharp rise in support.
    [Show full text]
  • De Vlaams-Nationalistische Partijen En Organisaties Bruno De Wever En Koen De Scheemaeker
    808 Bronnen van privé-instellingen 5.5. Bronnenpublicaties Documents sur la fondation du pcb, in Cahiers marxistes, 1971, speciaal nummer. In de nrs. 2 (p. 43-47), 9 (p. 44-54) en 10 (p. 71-88) van hetzelfde tijdschrift worden eveneens documenten gepubliceerd die betrekking hebben op de ontstaans periode van de kpb. “ Le Drapeau Rouge ” clandestin. Brussel, 1971. De klandestiene “ Roode Vaan ”. Brussel, 1971. Alphonse Bonenfast. Rapport sur la dissidence grippiste (1968), in Cahiers marxistes, 2002, nr. 222. 6. De Vlaams-nationalistische partijen en organisaties Bruno De Wever en Koen De Scheemaeker 6.1. Bibliografie Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP wijdde talrijke artikels aan Vlaams-nationalis- tische partijen en organisaties na de Tweede Wereldoorlog : 1962, nrs. 148 & 169 ; 1964, nr. 230 ; 1966, nrs. 336 & 345 ; 1973, nrs. 604 & 606 ; 1992, nr. 1356 ; 1993, nrs. 1416-1417, 2002, nr. 1748. De Wever (Br.). Greep naar de macht. Vlaams-nationalisme en Nieuwe Orde. Het VNV 1933-1945. Tielt-Gent, 1994. De Wever (Br.), Vrints (A.). Vlaams-nationalisme. Natievorming, ideologie en politieke stroming, in Sanders (L.), Devos (C.), eds. Politieke ideologieën in Vlaanderen. Antwerpen, 2008. De Wever (Ba.). Het Vlaams-nationalisme na de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Verrij- zenis of herrijzenis ?, in Bijdragen tot de Eigentijdse Geschiedenis, 1997, nr. 3, p. 277-290. De Winter (L.). The Volksunie and the dilemma between policy succes and elec- toral survival in Flanders, in Regionalist Parties in Western Europe. London, 1998, p. 28-50. Nieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging. Tielt, 1998 bevat ingangen op alle Vlaams-nationalistische partijen en organisaties, een overzichtsartikel over Vlaams-nationalistische partijen (B.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Secession?
    Örebro University School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences Political Science Why secession? The will of the people or a threat to democracy Political Science, Second cycle Independent project, 30 credits, 2020 Author: Jonathan Lehmann Molander Supervisor: Björn Hammar Abstract Europe is not as calm as one might think. There are currently several secessionist struggles that are ongoing in the region and in this thesis three of them will be researched. This thesis has investigated the biggest democratically elected actor that wants secession in Flanders, Catalonia and Scotland. This has been done by questioning how they argue for their secession and how these arguments relate to different approaches to legitimize secession. These approaches being the remedial approach, the free choice approach, the functional approach, the exit approach and the anti-theory approach. This was performed by using a qualitative content analysis. With this method I created an analytical scheme which was applied to the arguments in order to sort them into the scheme. The arguments used by the actors were pluralistic, relating to democracy, nationalism, administration, governance, economy, grievance and history. This proved that the actors are much more pluralistic than what theory could handle hence, none of the actors fit to either one of the approaches as they argued in a multitude of different ways. In addition to this, I was also able to show that against theoretical assumptions these secessionist actors didn’t favour external legitimacy. Even though this is argued by some to be most important for secessionist groups to gain independence. In the end the implications of this thesis are that secessionist actors are incredibly pluralistic, and it is quite hard for theory to fully capture this plurality.
    [Show full text]
  • Sub-State Nationalism and Populism: the Cases of Vlaams Belang
    Comp Eur Polit https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-018-0144-z ORIGINAL ARTICLE Sub‑state nationalism and populism: the cases of Vlaams Belang, New Flemish Alliance and DéFI in Belgium Emilie van Haute1 · Teun Pauwels1 · Dave Sinardet2 © Springer Nature Limited 2018 Abstract This contribution assesses whether populism is inherently embedded in and combined with the ideology of sub-state nationalist parties, using Belgium as a case study. We argue that sub-state nationalist parties tend to emphasize the opposition between a territorial community (‘us’) versus a dominant center (‘them’), a dichotomous view that could overlap with the populist ideology focusing on the opposition between the homogeneous people and the ‘corrupt’ elite. We compare the policy positions of the three major sub-state nationalist parties that operate in Belgium: the Vlaams Belang, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and Democrat Federalist Independent, using their manifestos and membership magazines between 2010 and 2015. We show that the manner in which sub-state nationalist parties com- bine their stances on territoriality to a populist rationale depends on their relation- ship to power (government vs. opposition). In doing so, this contribution uniquely relates populism to the territorial dimension of Belgian politics. Keywords Populism · Sub-state nationalism · Belgium · Political parties * Emilie van Haute [email protected] Teun Pauwels [email protected] Dave Sinardet [email protected] 1 Department of Political Science, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50 – CP 124, 1050 Brussels, Belgium 2 Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium E. van Haute et al. Introduction This paper focuses on the territorial dimension of populism, or the populist dimen- sion of sub-state nationalism.
    [Show full text]
  • Roger Scruton
    Roger Scruton When I was invited to give this talk by my old friend Paul Belien, my first reaction was one of pleasure that a political party in Belgium should be interested in my ideas. I have never been asked to address a political party in Western Europe, and I long ago concluded that a voice like mine is irrelevant to the practice of European politics, and must be regarded merely as a vague murmur in the stratosphere of thinking, with no clear application in the realm of political facts. I had heard of the Vlaams Belang, and its predecessor, the Vlaams Blok, as a controversial party, with widespread support among the Flemish population of Belgium. I knew that the party had been targeted by the liberal establishment, had been accused of ‘racism and xenophobia’, and had been disbanded, in its previous incarnation, by a Belgian court. On the other hand, there were plenty of explanations of the accusations apart from their truth, and it seemed likely to me that the true offence of the Vlaams Belang had been to threaten the vested interests of the European Union. That suspicion was to a certain measure confirmed when e-mails began to arrive from concerned ‘colleagues’ in Belgium – people who had never before shown any interest in my views, but who were now beseeching me to cancel this engagement, asking me not to give credibility to a dangerous right- wing party, and warning me of the damage to my reputation, should I be associated with a party of extremists. It became immediately clear that the controversy surrounding the Vlaams Belang is one that goes to the heart of Belgian politics, and that the opponents of the Vlaams Belang do not wish merely to defeat it in fair and free elections, but to destroy it as a political force.
    [Show full text]
  • Woordelijk Verslag Plenaire Vergadering
    vergadering 4 zittingsjaar 2020-2021 Woordelijk Verslag Plenaire Vergadering van 14 oktober 2020 2 Plenaire vergadering nr. 4 (2020-2021) – 14 oktober 2020 INHOUD OPENING VAN DE VERGADERING 5 VERONTSCHULDIGINGEN 5 VOORSTEL VAN RESOLUTIE van Karl Vanlouwe, Vera Jans, Gwendolyn Rutten, Joris Nachtergaele, Karin Brouwers en Maarten De Veuster over het conflict over Nagorno-Karabach – 486 (2020-2021) – Nrs. 1 en 2 Voorstel tot spoedbehandeling 5 SAMENSTELLING VAN DE COMMISSIES Wijzigingen onder de vaste en plaatsvervangende leden 5 ACTUALITEITSDEBAT over de coronamaatregelen in het onderwijs – 1 (2020-2021) 5 VOORSTEL VAN RESOLUTIE van Tom De Meester en Kim De Witte tot uitbreiding van steunmaatregelen voor de horecasector – 487 (2020-2021) – Nr. 1 Voorstel tot spoedbehandeling 30 ACTUALITEITSDEBAT over de forensische audit VRT van Audit Vlaanderen – 2 (2020-2021) 30 REGELING VAN DE WERKZAAMHEDEN 51 ACTUELE VRAAG van Filip Brusselmans aan Zuhal Demir, Vlaams minister van Justitie en Handhaving, Omgeving, Energie en Toerisme, over de aanpak van jonge criminelen die andere jongeren belagen 51 ACTUELE VRAAG van Stefaan Sintobin aan Wouter Beke, Vlaams minister van Welzijn, Volksgezondheid, Gezin en Armoedebestrijding, over het garanderen van voldoende personeelscapaciteit voor het uitvoeren van COVID-19-tests ACTUELE VRAAG van Freya Saeys aan Wouter Beke, Vlaams minister van Welzijn, Volksgezondheid, Gezin en Armoedebestrijding, over de ondersteuning van huisartsen 56 ACTUELE VRAAG van Bert Maertens aan Lydia Peeters, Vlaams minister van Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken, over de veiligheid van de reizigers tijdens de staking bij De Lijn op 9 oktober 2020 63 ONTWERP VAN DECREET van de algemene rekening van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap en van de uitvoering van de begroting van de Vlaamse rechtspersonen zonder raad van bestuur voor het begrotingsjaar 2019 – 23-A (2019-2020) – Nrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Belgium: Political Developments and Data in 2019
    34 European Journal of Political Research Political Data Yearbook 59: 34–55, 2020 doi: 10.1111/2047-8852.12303 Belgium: Political Developments and Data in 2019 BENOÎT RIHOUX,1 AUDREY VANDELEENE,2 LIEVEN DE WINTER,1 PIERRE BAUDEWYNS1 & SERGE DERUETTE3 1CESPOL, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; 2GASPAR, Universiteit Gent, Gent, Belgium; and 3UMons, Mons, Belgium Introduction The year 2019 was particularly hectic, with simultaneous federal, regional and European Parliament elections on 26 May. Anti-system parties were the main winners, especially the radical right-wing populist Flemish Interest/Vlaams Belang (VB) in Flanders and the communist Workers’ Party of Belgium/Parti du travail de Belgique (PTB) in Wallonia. By contrast, the three traditional party families (Socialists, Liberals and Christian Democrats) recorded historically low results. This was also a politically tense year, with the enduring impossibility of forming a new Cabinet to replace the Michel I minority caretaker government. Election report As in 2014, the federal, regional and European Parliament elections took place simultaneously. They featured a high level of aggregate volatility and recorded historically low scores for the three traditional party families, that is, Socialists, Liberals and Christian Democrats on the Flemish and Francophone sides: together they only gathered 45 per cent of the vote at the federal elections. This is the first time these parties have fallen below 50per cent, in stark contrast to figures oscillating between 80 and 65 per cent between the 1970s and the 2000s (Istace 2019), and way below the preceding record low of 58 per cent in 2014 (Rihoux et al.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vlaams Blok/Vlaams Belang and the National Demokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) on Crime and Crime Control – a Comparative Analysis
    FACULTY OF LAW The Vlaams Blok/Vlaams Belang and the National Demokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) on crime and crime control – a comparative analysis Dissertation submitted to obtain the academic degree of Master of European Criminology and Criminal Justice Systems by (606971) Klima, Noël Jeronimo Academic Year 2006-2007 Promotor : Commissioners : Prof. dr. Hebberecht, Patrick Prof. dr. Cools, Marc Prof. dr. Snacken, Sonja ______________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents The Vlaams Blok/Vlaams Belang and the National Demokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) on crime and crime control – a comparative analysis i List of Abbreviations..................................................................................................iv 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 2 VB and NPD history, roots and development .................................................... 3 2.1 VB in Belgium .................................................................................................................3 2.1.1 Pre-war Belgium and the Flemish movement........................................................3 2.1.2 Post-war developments .............................................................................................4 2.1.3 Vlaams Blok and the era Karel Dillen.....................................................................5 2.1.4 Ideology and the new generation .............................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • FLANDERS This File Contains Election Results for the Flemish Parliament in 1995
    FLANDERS This file contains election results for the Flemish Parliament in 1995, 1999, 2004 and 2009. Year, Geography, and Turnout YEAR Election Year PROV Province Name CONST Constituency Name VALID Valid Votes INVALID BlanK or Invalid Votes BALLOTS Total Ballots Cast REGIS Registered Voters Votes by Party CDV Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (Christian Democratic and Flemish); formerly ChristelijKe VolKspartij (Christian People’s Party) NVA Nieuw Vlaams Alliantie (New Flemish Alliance) CDV_NVA Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (Christian Democratic and Flemish) and Nieuw Vlaams Alliantie (New Flemish Alliance) cartel VB Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest); formerly Vlaams BloK (Flemish Bloc) OpVLD Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats) VLD_Viv Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Flemish Liberals and Democrats) and Vivant cartel VLD Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Flemish Liberals and Democrats) VIVANT Vivant SPA Socialistische Partij Anders (Socialist Party Different); formerly Socialistische Partij (Socialist Party) SPA_Sp Socialistische Partij Anders (Socialist Party Different) and Spirit in cartel GROEN Groen! (Green!); formerly Agalev UF Union des Francophones (Union of Francophones) LD Lijst DedecKer (List DedecKer) VU Volksunie (People’s Union) VU_ID VolKsunie (People’s Union) and ID21 in cartel PVDA Partij van de Arbeid van België (WorKers’ Party of Belgium) PVDA_AE PVDA-AE BUB1 B.U.B. (BELG.UNIE) BUB2 BELG.UNIE-BUB BUB3 B.U.B. RESPECT RESPECT LSP LSP SLP SLP BALL BELG.ALLIANTIE VRIJHEID VRIJHEID CAP CAP VCD VCD FN FN SOLIDE SOLIDE MDP MDP PVDD PvdD STA_OP STA OP VITAL vital MRV MRV VDB VDB PNPB PNPB WOW1 W.O.W. WOW2 WOW (different from above) UDDU UDDU APTY A WIT W.I.T.
    [Show full text]