Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist and Eurosceptic right-wing to far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the political far-right, although it has self-described as right-nationalist and more recently as conservative and centre-right and has tried to distance itself from the far-right label in recent years.
Vlaams Belang is a rebrand of Vlaams Blok, which was dissolved after it was condemned for espousing racism during a trial which was held in 2004. After it reorganized itself as Vlaams Belang, it continued to espouse the core philosophy of its predecessor by campaigning on a separatist and Flemish nationalist platform. It also supports the maintenance of Flemish cultural identity, it opposes multiculturalism, and it advocates the imposition of tougher law & order policies. However, the VB toned its rhetoric down and it also implemented some changes in the more controversial portions of the former Vlaams Blok statute and has sought to change its image from a radical to a more conservative party by distancing itself from some of its former programs. Nonetheless, most other parties initially continued the cordon sanitaire which was implemented against the former party, effectively blocking the Vlaams Belang from taking part in government at any level. Additionally, attempts on cutting public subsidies specifically for the party were made through the Belgian draining law.
Like Vlaams Blok, Vlaams Belang was initially popular among the Flemish electorate and it was also one of the most successful nationalist-populist parties in Europe. However, from 2008, the party experienced a downturn in support and membership, a situation which coincided with internal problems which existed within the party and the rise of the more moderate nationalist New Flemish Alliance, which, at the time, supported Flemish independence. Under the current leadership of Tom Van Grieken, the VB has begun to regain popular support and as a result, it made a comeback during the 2019 federal elections. Following the election, there was media speculation that the cordon sanitaire of the party could be lifted for the first time. By 2021, the VB had again grown into one of the largest parties in the Flemish region.
History
Background: Vlaams Blok
The direct predecessor of the Vlaams Belang was the Vlaams Blok, which was formed by the nationalist right-wing and national conservative faction within the People's Union (Volksunie, VU) which had emerged in the late 1970s. The ideology of the Vlaams Blok started out with its radical nationalist rejection of the People's Union compromise on the Flemish autonomy issue, and later increasingly focused on immigration and security, exploitation of political scandals, and defense of traditional values.De Winter, 2004, p. 2. The immigration positions of the Vlaams Blok were subject to much controversy, particularly after the party released its 70-point plan, and the Vlaams Blok was forced to disband in 2004 after being found to sanctioned illegal discrimination. By then, the party was the most popular Flemish party, supported by about one in four of the Flemish electorate,De Winter, 2004, p. 6. and was one of the most successful parties considered to be right-wing populist in Europe as a whole.Coffé, 2005, p. 205.
In Belgium in 2001, Roeland Raes, the ideologue and vice-president of Vlaams Blok, gave an interview to Dutch TV where he cast doubt over the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In the same interview he questioned the scale of the Nazis' use of gas chambers and the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary. The interview was met with uproar within the party with the VB's leadership immediately distancing themselves from Raes and holding an emergency meeting on whether to expel him. According to political scientist Cas Mudde, the Vlaams Blok had campaigned on heavy anti-immigration themes but had positioned itself against antisemitism and Holocaust denial.Mudde, 2003, p. 100. In response to the media assault following the interview, Raes was forced to resign his position but vowed to remain active within the party.Belgium's far right party in Holocaust controversy, The Guardian, Friday, March 9, 2001.
Upon complaints filed by the governmental Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism and the Dutch-speaking Human Rights League in Belgium, in 2001 three non-profit organisations that in effect constituted the core of the Vlaams Blok party were charged with violation of the Law on Racism and xenophobia by assisting "a group or organisation that clearly and repeatedly commits discrimination or segregation," here the political party. By April 2004, the Appellate Court of Ghent came to a final verdict, forbidding their and the party's continued existence for its "repeated incitement to discrimination." The trial was met with intense debate and mixed reactions, with the Vlaams Blok leadership and some political commentators arguing the trial was a politically motivated attempt by the Belgian establishment to destroy the party. In November that year, the Court of Cassation rejected their last appeal to annul the verdict; the delay had allowed using the name Vlaams Blok for election candidacy.
Vlaams Belang (2004–2008) After the Supreme Court ruling, the leadership of the VB seized the occasion to dissolve itself, and start afresh under a new name.Coffé, 2005, p. 216. On 14 November, the Vlaams Blok thus disbanded itself, and the Vlaams Belang was established. Other proposed names had included the Flemish People's Party and Flemish Freedom Front. The Vlaams Belang also instituted a number of changes in its political program, carefully moderating or discarding some of the more radical positions of the former Vlaams Blok.Erik, 2005, p. 493. Nevertheless, the party leader Frank Vanhecke made it clear that the party would fundamentally remain the same; "We change our name, but not our tricks. We change our name, but not our programme."Liang, 2007, p. 98.
Former Vlaams Blok chairman Frank Vanhecke was chosen as chairman of the Vlaams Belang on 12 December 2004.Erik, 2005, p. 498. Despite efforts to tone down parts of the party's platform, the Vlaams Belang has continued to be subjected to the cordon sanitaire like its predecessor, wherein all the traditional Flemish parties have agreed to systematically exclude the party, and never form a coalition with it. This situation was however altered slightly with the emergence of the smaller right-wing party List Dedecker (founded in 2007), which did not joined in on the agreement and argued that the cordon was ineffective. Nevertheless, in an interview with the popular weekly Humo, Flemish Prime Minister Yves Leterme for instance declared that a local chapter of his Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) that would form a coalition or close agreements with the Vlaams Belang, would no longer be considered part of the CD&V.
The VB contested the 2006 municipal elections on the theme of "Secure, Flemish, Liveable". The VB enjoyed a massive increase of votes, and its council members almost doubled, from 439 to about 800. The election result was described by the party as a "landslide victory." In Antwerp, the VB's vote count ran behind that of the Socialist Party, which increased their share of the vote dramatically. However, the VB, which was in a coalition with the minor VLOTT party, slightly increased their vote in the city to 33.5%. In the 2007 general election, the party won 17 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and five seats in the Senate, remaining more or less at status quo. Earlier the same year, the party joined the short-lived European Parliament group Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty alongside parties such as the French National Front.
Decline and internal strife (2008–2018) In 2008, Bruno Valkeniers was chosen as new party chairman for the VB, having contested the position unopposed. In 2009, the party contested elections for the Flemish Parliament and the European Parliament. The party was reduced from 32 to 21 seats (from the Vlaams Blok's record 24%, to 15%) in the Flemish parliament, and from three to two seats in the European parliament. In the 2010 general election, the party was again reduced, to 12 seats in the Chamber, and three in the Senate. This was largely due to the great success of the more moderate new party New Flemish Alliance, which also campaigned on Flemish independence and took many of the VB's votes. Around this time, the VB also saw several high-profile members defect from or quit the party, such as former leader Frank Vanhecke. After the party suffered heavy losses during the local elections of 2012 Bruno Valkeniers stepped down as party chairman and was succeeded by Gerolf Annemans.
In the 2014 federal and regional elections, the party again suffered a big loss; it was reduced to 5.9% of the Flemish vote. The European list, pulled by Annemans, scored slightly better with 6.8%. Annemans resigned as party leader, a function he only performed for two years, and argued for a rejuvenation of the party. The following party chairman election was won by the only candidate, Tom Van Grieken, then 28 years old and at the time the youngest leader of a political party in Belgium. After assuming leadership of the party, Van Grieken sought to soften and moderate its image further.
Resurgence (2018–present) During the 2018 Belgian local elections, the party saw a resurgence in support, obtaining 13.1% of the Flemish vote with an outlier of more than 40% in the city of Ninove where it fought locally under the name of Forza Ninove. The party also led a campaign against the Global Compact for Migration, which some commentators credit to successfully pressuring the rival N-VA to adopt a position against the Compact.
On May 26, 2019, in what was known as "Super Sunday" in Belgium (owing to the fact the Federal, Regional and European elections took place on the same day) the party made substantial gains in all three elections which some political analysts described as a significant comeback.
The party polled second place in the Flemish region with 18.6% of the overall vote, increasing its number of MPs in the Chamber of Representatives to 18 (its best result since 2007). In the Flemish Parliament the party also finished second, gaining 23 representatives. The party's campaign was managed by Bart Claes. Political analysts noted that the VB saw an increase in support among voters under 30 which was attributed to the party's use of social media campaigning.
In response to the results, there was some speculation that the N-VA leader Bart De Wever would break the Cordon sanitaire imposed on the party after he decided to hold talks with the VB as part of the coalition formation on the Flemish level, as their strong results made forming a coalition without them more difficult. The ending of the Cordon Sanitaire was further speculated after the VB leader Tom Van Grieken was invited to a customary meeting with King Philippe for the first time along with the leaders of the other main parties. The former Vlaams Blok party had previously been denied a meeting with the King in 1991 and 2003. Eventually, the party remained in opposition both at the regional and federal level, as, with the exception of N-VA, no other party was found willing to break the cordon.
During the 2024 Belgian federal election, the European and regional elections which again took place on the same day, the VB made further gains in all, including polling in first place in the Flemish electoral college for the European elections and finishing joint first in the Flemish parliament, but didn't see as many gains as initially predicted by opinion surveys in the Federal Parliament where the N-VA remained as the largest Flemish party.