An incident occurred in the Flemish Parliament on Wednesday between Flemish minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) and Vlaams Belang faction leader Chris Janssens during the debate on the recent PIAAC study, which shows, among other things, that Flemish adults with a migration background are significantly worse off. perform on language and arithmetic skills than native Flemish people.
In her answer to a series of questions about this, Demir clashed with Vlaams Belang. The N-VA minister at one point referred to an old Vlaams Blok proposal regarding return programs for migrants. “That second generation of migrants had to go to their country of origin and be taught there,” Demir said.
“I’m staying here”
Vlaams Belang faction leader Chris Janssens then made a number of comments from the benches. But because his microphone was not turned on, those comments were difficult to hear. They are also not in the report.
But according to Koen Daniëls (N-VA), who was close to Janssens, the VB faction leader said that Minister Demir “would have been better off returning to her country”. N-VA faction leader Philippe Muyters, who sits three seats away from his Vlaams Belang colleague, heard exactly the same as Daniëls. Just like Loes Vandromme of CD&V, who stood next to Daniëls at the podium.
-The minister himself initially reacted with shock, but soon afterwards said: “I’m staying here.” She does not want to add many more words to the discussion. Her party colleague and Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele responds: “Such statements are unacceptable in the Flemish Parliament. Vlaams Belang urgently needs to sweep in front of its own door. The Flemish deserve better from our Parliament.”
“I said that our program at the time – in retrospect – was not that bad,” Janssens acknowledged to the press agency. Belgian. The Vlaams Belang faction leader says he is somewhat fed up with the attitude of the N-VA minister. “A minister who attacks everyone, but cannot take a punch himself. That is very poor,” says Janssens.
Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken sees no harm in Janssens’ statements and said on X that he “supports him 100 percent”. “’Drama Demir’ makes yet another personal posturing, even though it wasn’t even about her. And yes. We wouldn’t have many problems today if we had sent guest workers back afterwards, as was the agreement.”
