Brussels Louis Paul Boonkring exposes the hidden side of the extreme right

In the run-up to the elections, the Louis Paul Boonkring will enter into discussions with voters at markets and other public places and try to convince them not to vote for the extreme right.
We believe that the extreme right is a danger to our society, especially in a super diverse city like Brussels,” says Mark Michiels (Louis Paul Boonkring). “We understand that people are sometimes fed up with the problems – because they do exist – but they sometimes want to go for the simple solutions. We want to enter into dialogue with those people. We show that the extreme right has a hidden side. Vlaams Belang is very cunning and tries to make itself sound, but as a result many people do not know what they really stand for.

You have created a newspaper and provide training on this subject, so that anyone who wants can join in, but in Brussels you set out on your own. Is the extreme right a problem here?
Mark Michiels: We hear that Vlaams Belang has made an agreement with the French-speaking far-right Chez Nous, so that Vlaams Belang has the territory for itself in Brussels. And that she will conduct a bilingual campaign to win over French speakers. So, yes, I think we should be concerned in Brussels too. We risk ending up in a stalemate like in 1999 when Commissioner Johan Demol emerged and threatened to block the Brussels institutions.

Who do you want to reach?
Michiels: We aim at the intermediate group, not at the hardliners. People who still have doubts. We think that Covid has proven that people need solidarity and connection and are open to dialogue. We don’t point fingers, but we listen and then start the conversation.

Isn’t such a conversation in the market a drop in the bucket?
Michiels: We also hear that: this won’t make any difference, it would be better for Vlaams Belang to help govern later, but then you just have to look at Italy to see what happens. There, laws are voted on every month that undermine democracy. On the other hand, in Germany you see large demonstrations against the extreme right. The resistance certainly proves its worth.
Vlaams Belang also immediately asked parliamentary questions about our action, in a very intimidating style. Which shows that this action does bother them.