VLAAMS BELANG: FLANDERS' FAR RIGHT PARTY LOOKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 000654

SIPDIS

STATE PASS EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL BE
SUBJECT: VLAAMS BELANG: FLANDERS' FAR RIGHT PARTY LOOKS
INWARD IN A GLOBAL WORLD

Classified By: Charge Wayne Bush for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: The Far Right Vlaams Belang (VB) is
campaigning hard in the run-up to the June 7 regional and
European elections. The most notable slogans since the
campaign began on March 7 are "Flemish Money in Flemish
Hands" and "This is Our Land." These slogans are meant to
conjure the VB's goal of an independent Flanders. However,
the VB is better known, or more notorious perhaps, for its
call to halt immigration and vocal opposition to the
Islamization of Europe. The party's platform states that
immigrants must integrate and accept certain tenets of
Western civilization: freedom of speech, separation of church
and state, and equality between men and women. The VB
platform calls for an end to the recognition of Islam as an
official religion, the closing of mosques that preach against
Western society, and an end to government subsidies for
mosques. The VB has been isolated by the majority political
parties at the national and regional level by a "cordon
sanitaire;" the cordon parties have promised not to join the
VB in a government or partner on legislative initiatives. VB
President Bruno Valkeniers told Pol-Econ Counselor he had
worked hard to modernize the party and was adaant that it
was not racist. He argued the codon sanitaire was based on
fear of the VB's Flemish independence stance rather than
racism. He said the VB did not need to participate in
government, since it was in fact committed to the abolition
of Belgium. End Summary.

VB's Conservative Electoral Campaign and Right Wing Platform
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2. (C) The VB is running as a conservative, right-wing
Flemish independence party in the June 7, 2007 regional and
European elections. The most noticeable campaign slogans
used by the VB are "Flemish Money in Flemish Hands" and "This
Is Our Land" for the European campaign. In February the VB
handed out small yellow piggy banks with the Flemish money
slogan at rallies as part of this campaign. Broadly, the VB
is campaigning as a traditional, conservative, almost
anti-modern party. Like many conservative parties in other
countries, it is focused on "the traditional family and
traditional values", a rejection of multiculturalism, and in
this election opposes globalization as well. The platform
for the Flemish campaign lists several very conservative
goals with inherent critiques on modern Belgian society.


3. (C) INDEPENDENCE: The first item on the platform is
"Flanders by Its Own Might." The VB makes a broad critique
of what it terms a failed Belgian state, the transfer of
funds from wealthier Flanders to Wallonia, and the current
Flemish government headed by Christian Democrat (CD&V) Kris
Peeters. The VB views the compromises required by the
Belgian constitution as a handicap that impedes Flanders'
ability to succeed. (Note: the Belgian constitution requires
super majorities--2/3rds--in many cases and allows the
Francophone and Flemish Communities to use a safeguard clause
to block national legislation deemed threatening to a
community's interests. Half of all ministers must be
Francophone, even though there are more Flemish held seats in
Parliament and a Flemish majority in the population. End
Note.) From this perspective, leaders of the major
Francophone parties are portrayed as enemies of Flanders.
The argument then follows that this unfair governmental
arrangement supports the transfer of EUR 2,000 per year per
Fleming to what are portrayed as lazy Walloons. The piggy
banks and the "Flemish Money" slogan are meant to drive this
point home. A variation on the piggy bank now appearing in
campaign publications shows the coin slot of the piggy zipped
shut, with the red Walloon rooster's foot caught in the
zipper. Strong criticism is laid on the Peeters government,
and on its failure to achieve a state reform that would
provide greater autonomy to Flanders in several areas. The
VB offers the catch-all solution of an independent Flanders
separate from Wallonia and its status quo politicians. A
strong, powerful Flanders would be free to seek its own way
in the world.


4. (C) TRADITIONAL VALUES: This campaign season the VB has
distributed campaign publications in support of the
"traditional family" and "traditional values," an issue often
heard in U.S. elections. The party's platform calls for more
generous social policies for traditional families with
children, but also attacks Belgium's more liberal, "less

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Christian" policies. The VB held a "Family Day" in Antwerp
to highlight its support for the family; its "this is our
land" brochures and posters are also part of the family
values campaign. One of the articles in the VB's April 2009
party paper provided testimony from a Fleming who said he
would no longer vote for the CD&V, because it is no longer a
Christian party. His testimony said he would vote for the
VB, the only party upholding truly Christian positions and
opposed to Belgium's gay marriage law, abortion, and
multiculturalism. Flemish Parliament VB leader Filip De
Winter observed in THE STANDAARD that, "A white,
heterosexual, law abiding Fleming on our territory is a
modern Job in our society. If he also smokes, drives a car,
and votes for the Vlaams Belang, then he is treated as a
pariah."


5. (C) ANTI-IMMIGRATION AND ANTI-Islamization: The VB is
probably best known, or most notorious, for its
anti-immigration and anti-Islamization stance. The VB
platform calls for the strictest immigration policy of the
Flemish parties--an immediate stop "of the flow." The
party's platform declares that Flanders is not an immigrant
country, but softens this statement with a willingness to
accept immigrants who accept Flemish cultural norms and
Western values, which include the separation of church and
state, democracy, free speech, and equality between men and
women. The VB openly points out that Islamic immigration is
the greatest threat to these values, and some party
publications call Islamization a threat to European society.
A brochure distributed in Brussels in February focused on the
expansion of mosques in the Brussels region; the front cover
read, "No Super Mosque in Molenbeek." The VB platform calls
for an end to the recognition of Islam as an official
religion by the state, the closing of mosques that preach
against Western society, and an end to government subsidies
for mosques. The most publicized statements have been made
by De Winter, who recently wrote a book titled
"Inch'shallah," in which he likens Islam to a predator
preying on a weak European civilization. In media interviews
De Winter said he was not opposed to Muslims, but only to
those who practice an Islam counter to standard Western
values. A Muslim community leader in Antwerp recently told
Poloff that VB rhetoric is often mentioned within the Muslim
community as a sign of Flemish hostility and intolerance.


6. (C) ANTI-GLOBALIZATION: The most recent VB campaign
statements (late April) have focused on the financial crisis
and globalization. The VB now espouses an anti-globalist
policy. This would seem to fit with the views of a truly
conservative party, holding up the idea of an independent and
isolationist Flanders, ignoring the fact that Flanders is an
open economy dependent on world trade and foreign investment.
The VB European election program indicates the VB is also
opposed to a stronger European Union and espouses a loose
federation of nation-states over the present structure that
allows larger countries to direct EU policy.

Relations with Other Parties: Cordon Sanitaire
-------------- -


7. (C) Though the VB is the largest party in the Flemish
regional government and holds a large number of seats in the
national parliament, it has been subject to a cordon
sanitaire by other parties at the regional and national
levels. The governing parties a long-standing agreement not
to join governments or partner on legislation with the VB.
Poloff spoke to representatives of the CD&V, the OpenVLD, and
the Flemish Socialists (sp.a) to ask whether they would
continue the cordon sanitaire if the VB does well on June 7.
The CD&V foreign policy advisor said the CD&V would stick to
the cordon sanitaire principle and long-standing policy;
there has not been and will not be discussion of a policy
change. A younger CD&V member serving in the Cabinet of
Flemish Minister President Peeters said the VB's recent
rhetoric and campaign slogans may appear more moderate, but
he believed no major party, including the CD&V, would adjust
its policy for electoral reasons. He predicted any party
breaking the cordon would face unwelcome publicity and be
accused of intolerance by rival parties. An OpenVLD contact
said the principle of the cordon would remain. He said the
VB had tried to moderate its image over the past five to six
years, but the core of racist supporters remained the same.
When pressed for evidence, he mentioned De Winter's book.
The sp.a Vice President said that a social-democratic party

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could never work with a right-wing party with racist roots.
He admitted the VB had stopped its radical right-wing
rhetoric in 2003, but predicted its return during the
regional campaign due to tough competition from the new
center-right Lijst Dedecker (LDD). He suggested the VB's
recent outreach to the Jewish community and its support of
Israel was an obvious ploy to project a more tolerant image.
When I asked about the party's recent leadership changes, he
pointed to the party founders' connection to collaborators
during WWII and an extreme-right party in the 50s. Filip De
Winter he claimed was once a member of a right-wing national
socialist youth movement. (Note: Research indicates De
Winter was a member of a right wing Catholic youth movement.
End Note.) He said he was uncertain if moderate VB President
Bruno Valkeniers had a racist history.

Bruno Valkeniers: The Moderate Public Face
--------------


8. (C) VB President Bruno Valkeniers described his party as a
legitimate, non-racist, right-wing Flemish nationalist
opposition party during a discussion with Pol-Econ Counselor
February 13. Valkeniers has a business background,
previously managing terminal operations at the Port of
Antwerpfollowed by several years of independent consuling.
Three years ago, Valkeniers was approached by the VB and
asked to enter politics. He said he was a well-known
sympathizer from the Flemish movement and had regular contact
with the parties associated with Flemish independence: the
VB, the New Flemish Alliance (NVA),and the nationalist wing
of the CD&V.


9. (C) Valkeniers stated clearly that the VB's main purpose
is to achieve an independent Flanders within the European
Union. He predicted Belgium would eventually become too
bloated, reaching a point where important decisions would be
impossible to make. Valkeniers rejected the NVA approach of
working from within the government. The Belgian
constitution's restrictions force too many weak compromises
and prevent the Flemish majority from promoting its own
interests. Regarding the two commonly mentioned obstacles to
splitting Belgium--the national debt and Brussels--Valkeniers
suggested dividing debt by territory, GDP, or some other
formula. He agreed Brussels was the greater challenge, but
suggested that Brussels should be viewed as an international
multicultural city rather than a Flemish or Walloon city. He
described Brussels as a dirty, filthy, rough city with
serious socio-economic problems. Noting that it could not
survive financially either alone or in union with Wallonia,
he suggested two possibilities: a special multi-lingual
entity within mono-lingual Flanders or a distinct entity like
Washington, D.C., supported by Flanders, Wallonia, and the
E.U.


10. (C) As a member of the Flemish movement during the years
of Flemish cultural and political awakening (1960s-1980s),
Valkeniers placed a strong emphasis on the VB's pursuit of a
Flemish identity--"leefbaarheid," or viability for Flemish
cultural norms. He said Flanders was an open, European part
of the world that claimed respect for itself and others. The
VB is uncompromising on its insistence that all residents of
Flanders must respect Flemish culture and language. The VB
therefore expects immigrants to integrate and accept the
common language, values, and culture that have evolved in
Flanders over centuries. He added that immigration was not a
problem until the 80s and 90s, when large waves of immigrants
came from the developing world. Islamic immigration, he
said, presents the greatest challenge due to the seriously
different cultural perspective held by Muslim immigrants. He
said the key cultural points of Islam that were abhorrent to
a free European people were the differing status accorded men
and women and the unity of politics and religion espoused by
Islam. The problem was not religion, he added, but the mix
of religion, politics, and juridical practices.

Not a Racist Party
--------------


11. (C) Valkeniers categorically denied that the VB was a
racist party. After referring to the 2004 decision by
Belgium's highest court that effectively forced the
disbanding of the VB's predecessor, the Vlaams Blok, for
allegedly violating anti-racism laws, he pointedly remarked
that freedom of speech standards were not as high in Belgium

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as in the U.S. As party president, Valkeniers is striving to
revamp the VB image and improve its political discourse.
Pol-Econ Counselor asked about recent inflammatory statements
from Filip De Winter. Valkeniers replied that a political
party must deliver a political message, and De Winter often
communicated in a "direct" manner. He also commented that De
Winter's more moderate statements rarely make headlines; the
press seems to ignore or overlook De Winter's frequently made
point that the VB has no problem with religion and is not
trying to ban Islam or the Koran. Valkeniers also argued
that the racist card is used as an excuse to isolate the VB,
when the real issue is the majority parties are scared of the
VB's true commitment to abolishing Belgium.


12. (C) Valkeniers said it was this fear that led to the
cordon sanitaire pact maintained by the other parties. He
said the cordon held when the cameras were running, but was
weaker behind the scenes. As an uncompromising party,
however, the VB does not need to take part in governments.
He said that twenty years ago Flemish independence was a
marginal idea for marginal people, and is now taken
seriously. When asked about his party's prospects in the
upcoming regional elections, Valkeniers admitted to concern
about competition from the new LDD for the right-wing vote
and NVA for the nationalist vote. He dismissed LDD leader
Jean-Marie Dedecker as a short-term attention grabber who
wanted to participate in government. The NVA, on the other
hand, was too academic and intellectual, and sought an
intellectual's calm, compromising, and slow time frame for
independence. The fact that NVA had to end its coalition
with the CD&V in the previous government highlighted the
impossibility of working within the system. VB voters, he
said, were simple people, for whom the Belgian government is
the enemy, the occupier of Flanders.

Comment--Post Will Continue Minimal Contact Policy
-------------- --------------


13. (C) The VB is the most conservative and right-wing party
in Flanders, if not in Belgium as a whole. It is the most
likely choice of right-wing Flemings and those afraid of
immigration and concerned with the growth of the Muslim
population in Europe. Because of its anti-Islamization
stance and the intolerance attributed to some of its members,
it is deeply unpopular in Belgium's Muslim community, and
shunned by other parties. The UK Ambassador told Charge that
the UK maintains a no-contact policy with the VB. VB member
are not invited to Embassy events, and Belgian parliamentary
delegations that include a VB member are not received by the
UK government if they visit the UK. This is similar to long
standing U.S. Embassy practice. Absent Department guidance
to the contrary, post plans to maintain a single, mid-level
point of contact with the VB.

BUSH
.