1. Faced with Raoul Hedebouw, Conner Rousseau does not want to be “like Jesus”
Seven politicians in a castle. Continuation and not end. The second episode of the show Het Conclaaf was broadcast this Thursday evening on VTM. And, as in the previous part, the atmosphere was icy. If last week, it was mainly between Bart De Wever (N-VA) and Tom Van Grieken (Vlaams Belang) that the discussion was heated, this time, the clash concerned the president of the N-VA – him again – , but included a newcomer to the show: the Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo (Open Vld). From the outset, Bart De Wever set the tone: “Agreements with Alexander De Croo are worthless! He is capable of agreeing and mentally destroying him before he even leaves the room. In the trash! ( …) I think he is in politics only to promote his own career.”
The thirty-minute exchange between the two men, which the director of the show described as the “strongest” moment of the show, kept its promises. For their first discussion in four years, De Croo and De Wever did not hesitate to show their enmity. In reality, it was above all the president of the N-VA who went hard, visibly not digesting “the knife that Alexander De Croo stuck in his back” during the previous election. When the Prime Minister suggested that he turn the page on their tormented past, opening the door to a possible alliance after June 9, De Wever dismissed him. “To work together, you need trust. It is totally absent as far as we are concerned… You are almost Trumpian with your alternative facts,” concluded the mayor of Antwerp.
The other highlight of this 2nd episode concerned Raoul Hedebouw (PTB), Petra De Sutter (Groen) and Conner Rousseau (Vooruit). We could see the president of the PTB (seeming) reaching out to his two left-wing colleagues. But the former leader of Vooruit, suspicious, did not grasp it, accusing the PTB of constantly attacking the left parties and refusing to work with them. “I’m not Jesus. I’m not going to turn the other cheek,” Rousseau said. He added that he was not fundamentally opposed to collaborating with the far left, but judged that Hedebouw’s approach was above all strategic and not necessarily sincere.
It is true that, for several weeks, the president of the PTB has constantly repeated that his party was ready to come to power. But observers remain doubtful. Isn’t this simply a way of thwarting rivals’ argument that the far-left party would never take responsibility? We will have to see if Raoul Hedebouw will make his statements come true. And whether he will be able to do it.
2. The Palestinian issue creates new tensions between socialists and liberals
The conflict in the Middle East has been interfering in the electoral campaign for some time now. To the chagrin of some. This week again, we saw numerous candidates stepping up to the plate so that Belgium follows in the footsteps of Norway, Spain and Ireland in recognizing the Palestinian state. Vooruit, the PS, the CD&V, Groen… have spoken out in this direction. But in vain. The federal government meeting in Kern this Wednesday did not decide to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The Liberals stood together. “We support the two-state solutionexplained the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib (MR), as soon as she left the kern. (But) we must go further than symbolic recognition. What is important is to create the conditions that must bring peace, stability, obtain a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access.”
This decision was criticized in the ranks of the majority. And, in particular, within the Socialist Party. “It’s all well and good to say that we support the Palestinian people and their right to a territory, but today we need actions that the right is not ready to take,” reacted socialist minister Karine Lalieux , saying she was “disappointed and angry”. Its party president, Paul Magnette, also expressed his dismay over X, specifically targeting the MR. “We denounce the double discourse of the MR and his minister Hadja Lahbib, who speaks publicly for the recognition of the State of Palestine, while preventing this recognition within the federal government. It is time to put an end to this double discourse .”
Faced with these attacks, the president of the MR came to the rescue of his minister and attacked the “electoralist” approach of certain parties in this issue. “The recognition of Palestine is so important for Pierre-Yves Dermagne that he was absent from the council of ministers which debated the subject. Do you want further proof that for the PS, Palestine is just an electoral toy?” he said. Not sure that this escalation of barbs on such a complex subject will really change the debate…
3. Bart De Wever finally answered the question that has made him uncomfortable for months
The question has remained unresolved for months. Will the N-VA agree to ally with Vlaams Belang the day after June 9? Will Flemish nationalists cross the Rubicon? Well, no. At least, that’s what their president, Bart De Wever, said in the program “Eerste keus” which will be broadcast this Sunday, extracts of which have been revealed. “My question is: to do what?” he asked. “I don’t agree with this party on just about everything. And I don’t like the style of this party. So the answer for me is no.”
The mayor of Antwerp has therefore chosen to no longer dodge the question, which has made him uncomfortable for a very long time. For the first time, he clearly closed the door to Vlaams Belang. Why now ? The timing is surprising. Indeed, since the start of the campaign, everyone agreed on why De Wever was so vague about a possible alliance with the far right. The leader of the Flemish nationalists did not want to offend part of his electorate, who were rather favorable to such collaboration. And also, he knew that the issue divided his party members.
He also admitted it in the interview broadcast this Sunday. “How do we stop the growth of extremist ideas? Should we say to ourselves that we let them rise to power and we’ll see what happens? Or should we definitely not do it “It’s a debate that lives within different parties and which also lives within mine, I readily admit,” he explained.
Will this last minute change in strategy benefit the party? We’ll have to wait until June 9 to find out. But, in any case, in the latest polls, Vlaams Belang has never stopped widening the gap with the N-VA…
