2023-12-03 16:55:47
Could the N-VA ally with Vlaams Belang? Bart De Wever kicked in this Sunday, putting the ball back in the camp of the CD&V and the Open VLD.
Is the N-VA ready to ally with Vlaams Belang if the two parties have a majority in Flanders on the evening of June 9? The question was once again asked to the president of the Flemish nationalists this Sunday on the set of “Zevende Dag”, the VRT’s Sunday political show.
Bart De Wever dodged, throwing the ball back into the court of the Flemish parties in the federal government and in particular those who currently make up the majority in Flanders with his party: the CD&V and the Open VLD.
The question of a possible N-VA – Vlaams Belang coalition is not “relevant”, replied De Wever, because in his eyes, another question is more important: are the presidents of the traditional Flemish parties ready to “form a Vivaldi II with a third of the Flemish votes”?
“What you never do is ask Sammy Mahdi and Tom Ongena: are you ready to form a new Vivaldi government with a third of the Flemish votes? This question is more relevant”
“You ask me all the time if we are going to do something with Vlaams Belang. But what you never do is ask Sammy Mahdi (president of CD&V) and Tom Ongena (president of Open VLD) : are you ready to form a new Vivaldi government with a third of the Flemish votes? This question is more relevant,” he argued.
“The Impasse” N-VA
Dodge, counter-evasion: questioned by the Belga agency, the president of the Open VLD did not answer the question from his N-VA counterpart. On the other hand, he raised the specter of a new “political impasse” if the N-VA’s confederal project were to be approved.
An impasse which last time cost 10 billion euros, according to him. “We cannot afford this. Therefore, from the day after the elections, we want to continue working on concrete solutions to the concerns of people and businesses. This is the only way to strengthen our prosperity,” explained Tom Ongena.
For his part, CD&V president Sammy Mahdi reacted on X (formerly Twitter). “Tiring”, he wrote. “Coming up in Wallonia to weaken the (center) right parties, taking everyone hostage for years in the community trenches and refusing today all federal reforms for purchasing power and people’s health. ”
Like that of the Open VLD, the president of the Flemish Christian Democrats profiled his party as being constructive, focused on the socio-economic and the proper functioning of the State, in opposition to an N-VA whose confederal project would lead to his paralysis.
CD&V merger – Les Engagés
Sammy Mahdi highlighted the centrist partnership of his party with the Engagés of Maxime Prévot. The two men revealed the content in an interview with La Libre. The two parties will make common cause in Brussels for the federal election. They also want to present themselves united for the formation of the next government.
“The State must function better – and I hope to find partners to make this happen. But I do not want to block the country by saying that ‘it will be this or nothing’, and especially not demand confederalism from the N-VA which hides a separatist vision. We want to meet the challenges in terms of security, migration, the economy, purchasing power, health? This is what worries people in cafes or in the markets,” Mahdi explained.
The N-VA in Wallonia?
The nationalist leader, in opposition at the federal level, launched the idea of presenting his party on the other side of the linguistic border. He explained it on the VRT set this Sunday.
The ambition is not “to make a breakthrough and collect a lot of seats” but rather to promote the idea of confederalism and fuel the debate with “the idea that in Wallonia, we must get rid of the PS”.
“The PS is bad for Belgium. Wallonia must be freed from the PS“, affirmed Bart De Wever, who believes that the management of French-speaking socialists is even worse than the Eastern Bloc countries which freed themselves from communism.
“This is due to left-wing management which only works thanks to third-party payment from Flanders.” For this reason, the N-VA wants to “send into the field” people who would relay this message.
The PS did not wish to react to this initiative. At Ecolo, it seems to elicit more of a shrug of the shoulders. “I don’t think anything of it. Last week, he announced to us that he was a candidate for Prime Minister, then that the federal government, he no longer believed in it. Now, that’s it. I’m waiting for the next announcement”, underlined Federal Minister Zakia Khattabi on the set of “Puncheurs” (RTL-TVi).
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