2023-05-01 18:26:00
The proposal to limit unemployment benefits in time comes from the Flemish Socialists. A proposal rejected by the entire French-speaking left, but supported by all right-wing parties. Today, a year before the next elections, the border between right and left is no longer the same in the north and south of the country. The gap between the regions is widening even further.
“Flemings and Walloons think and want to vote differently“, indicates a young man on a walk around the Place Sainte-Catherine. “The north votes for the right and the south for the left.“, indicates another walker.
Opposition seems to be growing between the two sides of the country. Are the two still compatible? In reality, the opinions of Walloons and Flemings are not so different. It is above all the political offer that is not similar. “People who vote for PTB or Vlaams Belang do not necessarily vote for a right/left issue“, explains Vincent Laborderie, political scientist at UCLouvain. “Some of the people who vote PTB do so as a protest vote.“
The left/right divide is not the same in Flanders as in Wallonia. Due in particular to the presence of an extreme right party in the north of the country for more than 30 years. “All the favorite themes of this party were very present in the Flemish political debate“, says Dave Sinardet, political scientist at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. “Other parties have moved in the direction of the right. This is not new because we see it all over Europe. It is not Flanders which goes more to the right but Wallonia which is somewhat the only region of Europe to remain very to the left.“
Political scientists agree that forming a federal government will be difficult. Some already fear a total blockage.
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