This Saturday, the Flemish party presidents debated one last time on the VRT platform. The most divisive subject? The war in Ukraine. The very clear positions of Tom Van Grieken (Vlaams Belang) and Raoul Hedebouw (PVDA/PTB) aroused strong reactions.
Europe has committed “a crucial error” by focusing on weapons and not on peace negotiations in Ukraine, said Tom Van Grieken, president of Vlaams Belang, Saturday evening in “Het Groot Debat” on VRT. The president of the PVDA (PTB), Raoul Hedebouwfor his part recommended qleave NATO. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) described them as “allies of Putin (Russian president, editor’s note)”.
In addition to purchasing power and immigration, political figures in the north of the country have addressed international themes with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The positions of the far right and the far left were particularly striking. Raoul Hedebouwleader of the PVDA, pleaded for aindependent European defense, that is to say without NATO. President Donald Trump’s Americans will not protect Europe, he said. The president of Vooruit, Melissa Depraetere, called this position “too crazy for words.” ” It’s a gift to Putin and to all those who would be only too happy to invade Europe,” she said.
The president of Vlaams Belang, Mr. Van Grieken, for his part considered that Europe must “work for peace” in Ukraine and therefore stop sending weapons en masse. “I’m not a great historian, but I know that the longer a war lasts, the more likely it is that Russia will win. Europe has made crucial mistakes: we are not a ‘hard power’ but a ‘soft power’, and we must use all our skills to make the war stop there. »
The Prime Minister De Croo described Mr Van Grieken and Mr Hedebouw as “ two allies of (Russian president, editor’s note) Vladimir Poutine“. Petra DeSutter (Groen) described the PVDA and Vlaams Belang as “ parties dangerous for the state“. The president of the N-VA, Bart De Weverjudged Mr. Van Grieken’s position “ very worrying“. “These Ukrainians are also fighting for our freedom. If they had laid down their arms, the Russians would already be in the Baltic States and on the border with Poland. Now saying they should stop fighting sounds like 1939 Munich. »
