A new opinion survey from Belgium has revealed the continuation of a clear trend that has been witnessed across Europe for some time, especially in the past several months, where popular support for national, sovereignist Right parties has risen significantly.
This particular poll, carried out by the data analytics and market research firm Kantar for La Libre and radio-TV station RTBF, revealed that if elections were held today in Flanders, Vlaams Belang and the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) together would garner 46.3% of the vote, with the former party coming in first place with 24.8% and the latter taking second with 21.5%.
Regarding the latest polling data, Flemish MP Filip Dewinter, one of the leading members of Vlaams Belang, told The European Conservative:
The fact that Vlaams Belang is the largest party in successive polls offers unprecedented opportunities. Participation in a government in collaboration with the conservative party N-VA, is nearing closer. There is an excellent chance that a right-wing government will be formed in Belgium, just like in Italy. It is clear that the dissatisfaction of the population due to the government’s lax immigration policy is significant. The population desires change and they are obviously resistant to the agenda of the political class.
Dewinter also called for greater “cooperation between European right-wing and patriotic parties,” saying that closer cooperation can “cause a revolution in the European Parliament.”
Meanwhile, support for the Flemish Socialists of Vooruit has surpassed that of center-right CD&V, climbing to 15.2% from 10.8% in 2019. During the same time period, CD&V has witnessed its popularity decline considerably, dropping from 14.2% to 9.6%, placing it sixth among Flemish parties.
Additionally, if elections were held in the near future, support for the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (OPEN-VLD), which currently stands at 12.1%, would see the party overtake the CD&V. The Greens—a member of the governing coalition with the CD&V, OPEN-VLD, and the Socialists—has seen its support level remain at around 10%.
The latest opinion survey also indicated that Vlaams Belang, led by Tom Van Grieken, has by far the most stable voting base. 92% of those who say they are ready to cast their votes for the party today already voted for the party in the last election in 2019.
It’s worth noting that Vlaams Belang’s precipitous ascension in the polls is part of a broader trend that has been witnessed as of late among parties that are members of the Identity and Democracy (ID) European parliamentary grouping.
In Austria and Germany, for example, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)—both of which are also members of the ID group—have seen their support increase significantly over the past year, and especially in the past several months.
The FPÖ—the only party represented in Austria’s federal parliament that has questioned the efficacy of the EU’s sanctions against Russia, opposed mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, and stood against relaxed migration policies—is, like Vlaams Belang in Flanders, now the largest party in Austria, as The European Conservative previously reported.
At the same time, in Germany, the AfD, which holds similar domestic and foreign positions as the FPÖ, recently saw its support level climb to an all-time high. It became the third-largest party in the Bundestag, surpassing the ruling Green party, according to an opinion poll conducted earlier this month.
