2023-07-22 10:45:00
It has recently been observed that the Dutch level of federal ministers is not great. Can having bilingual ministers promote a better political union?
“Certainly. It allows our federal ministers to better understand what others are saying. Not only what their colleagues say during the meetings, but also the Dutch-speaking media. Beyond that, speaking the other’s language is showing respect for that language and that person’s identity. Whatever the language in question, it is always appreciated by the person when we see that we have made the effort to learn this language. If we are firmly attached to the unity of this country and if we do not take the trouble to learn the majority language of the country, this creates a tension and a form of hypocrisy that can be rightly reproached.”
For 2024, we often hear that these are the last chance elections. The separation of Belgium is once more on the table. You believe in it ?
“No. I believe that we can calmly prepare for the bicentenary of 2030. There are only 20% of Flemings who want the separation and the split of Belgium. Does the N-VA believe in it? There is what they say and what they really believe. Bart De Wever admitted to having changed his mind over time. At the time of the creation of the N-VA, when they put this famous article 1 in their statutes, they believed that the European Union might take over several competences from the federal state. Afterwards, there were a multiplicity of crises and he realized that what might be transferred at European level was much less important. Therefore, Belgium will remain the Member State of the European Union. This is why from 2014, they turned to confederalism. They say it’s a small step in the direction of a split. For me, this is something that does not hold water and in the leadership of the N-VA, there are not many who believe in it. The Vlaams Belang, on the other hand, believes in the split of Belgium. They hate confederalism because, for them, it allows Wallonia to keep a hand on Brussels indefinitely.”
Philippe Van Parijs has a doctorate in sociology from the Catholic University of Louvain. ©JC Guillaume
The split is ultimately more simplistic talk. Confederalism remains very institutional…
“It’s a totally unrealistic speech. We can afford unrealism as long as there is a cordon sanitaire that allows us to remain comfortably in opposition. But if the N-VA comes to power, it will have to start making proposals that hold up a little more. That’s confederalism. So no. In 2030, we will not have a big bicentenary celebration which will at the same time be the end of Belgium. But we have to improve our institutions and that is not easy.”
Does it go through a better understanding of the other?
“It goes through there. What is really fundamental is communication. Communication is not just talking, it’s listening. This is why I am opposed to the media cordon. I think it’s a bad idea because you have to listen to others. We must not muzzle people who are the representatives of positions we do not like, but we must listen to them. We will not be immediately infected. It’s regarding having more information so that we can argue more effectively with people who, rightly or not, see things in a different way, see threats where there are none, et cetera et cetera.”
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However, it is said that if there is no extreme right in Wallonia, it is thanks to the media cord.
”Thanks to the media cordon? There is a correlation between the two. But it is rather the fact that there is no extreme right that we can afford a media cordon. Whereas in Flanders, when you have 25% of the electorate voting for the far right, you can’t afford it. The causality is in the opposite direction. Obviously, all the parties in place prefer that there is no new outsider who comes to threaten them. But what is the best strategy? Should they be muzzled? Wet them? Should we show what this party will do once in power? His electorate is not going to laugh seeing all the compromises he will have to make. That goes for the PTB, too. Otherwise, we can splash. Austria has adopted the worst strategy of splashing the limelight by highlighting a scandal caused by people who wanted to ambush one of the leaders of the far-right party. They wanted to show that he is easily corrupted with a hidden video… And then there is the finally civilized aspect. What Tom Van Grieken says and thinks is certainly less radical and less odious than what many people who support his party think. In participating in public debate, as soon as you have to justify yourself, you have to address everyone. Personally, I am once morest the sanitary cordon of speech, but this speech, to be effective, must be heard on the other side. So learning the other’s language is very important. We will be heard better, including by the voters of Vlaams Belang, if we can speak the other’s language.”
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