2023-11-21 11:24:00
Vlaams Belang has never been so strong electorally. In Flanders, the possibility that the far right will be essential to form the future regional government is a real worry. To find scores as high as those communicated by the latest voting intentions, we have to go back to 2004, when the VB was still called Vlaams Blok…
In Wallonia, on the other hand, the far-right has difficulty existing. There are mainly three parties, which appear to be more “group-oriented” than unifying, explains Benjamin Biard, research fellow at CRISP and specialist in the far-right.
The oldest hard-right party is Nation. “It was founded in 1999 in the wake of the legislative, regional and European elections. Nation attempted to develop on the ashes of the National Front which later became Agir. The party has never made electoral breakthrough. Its results have always been marginal.”
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The Nation movement is not defined only by its electoral activism – its last congress in the fall of 2022 brought together 20 people – but also by its “grassroots activism”. Its members carry out shocking actions which aim to mark the occasion, to show their presence. We will remember, for example, their activists visiting halal businesses in Brussels wearing pig masks.
”Certain executives were convicted in court of having participated in the physical attack of a homeless man of Polish origin in Brussels. They have a relatively uninhibited relationship with violence. The movement still has the ambition to submit electoral lists in 2024.”
Chez Nous is the youngest identity party in Wallonia. Sponsored by the National Rally of Jordan Bardella, it brings together former members of the European National Party (PNE) and the Walloon FN. The municipal councilor of Fleurus, Salvatore Nicotra (Agir), might join this small group which has 16,000 followers on Facebook. Chez Nous benefits from exclusivity to use the slogan, logo and acronym of the French National Front, which provokes heated internal debates.
“We see the emergence of those who want to use this slogan to boost the party and those who oppose it in an attempt to de-demonize. We recall that in Belgium, the FN caused very strong tensions by making comments that went beyond what was permitted by law, to put it mildly.”
Finally, there are those who have taken up the concept of the Popular Party. In 2019, Mischaël Modrikamen’s party lost all of its mandates. “Today, a certain number of far-right personalities are trying to revive it by recovering the brand and riding on its name. The name was registered in 2023.”
Benjamin Biard observes that the exchanges between these different parties can be quite violent. “In terms of tone, we are often insulting. Generally speaking, the quarrels between small groups are one of the reasons which make it possible to understand why the extreme right is unable to break through in Wallonia. The day she manages to rally behind one person, she will be able to have weight on the French-speaking political scene. There will still be the sanitary cordon and other obstacles, but it is a first step to exist.”
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