DAt 8 a.m. this Wednesday morning, Belgian political figures began to react on social networks. Theo Francken, claimed specialist of the United States at the N-VA, is the first to post on X (formerly Twitter). “As expected, “The Donald” wins. Europe had better be able to save itself,” he said, before posting screenshots where he predicted Harris’ defeat already this summer. In a completely different genre, Ecolo co-president Samuel Cogolati is concerned about “equality, decency, liberty, fraternity and respect for planetary boundaries”, and sees Donald Trump as “the most dangerous president ever elected at the head of the USA.
His colleague co-president of Ecolo, Marie Lecocq, quickly followed, regretting “a dark day for democracy”. The co-presidents of Groen, the Flemish ecologists, also denounced the victory of a man “who carries hatred and sows polarization”. Tom Van Grieken, at the time of writing these lines, and other members of Vlaams Belang, are the only ones to congratulate and openly rejoice at the claimed victory by Donald Trump. Far-right party president sees defeat Harris’ apparent appearance is that of a candidate who denied the interests of “simple people”, namely “purchasing power and immigration”.
Around 9:30 a.m. this Wednesday, Prime Minister for Current Affairs Alexander De Croo sent his congratulations to “President-elect Donald Trump”: “Belgium is delighted to be able to continue to strengthen the transatlantic link. Strong alliances will be needed to address current global challenges and ensure our prosperity,” he said.
The PS also reacted via its official account on “re-election of Donald Trump” as “a worrying turning point for democracy and fundamental rights, which reinforces authoritarian dynamics and threatens social achievements”. Conner Rousseau, president of Vooruit, for his part spoke of “the horror in the United States” on his Instagram account.
The president of the MR Georges-Louis Bouchez congratulated the winner Donald Trump and added that instead of “commenting, or even lamenting for some, Europe must rather seize this opportunity to take its destiny in hand with a real strategy of industrial, agricultural, military and energy autonomy, in perfect collaboration with our allies including the USA. Democracy has spoken to Europeans about thinking about Europe’s interests, without naivety.
