March 28, 2024
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06:30
In the run-up to the regional, federal and European elections of June 9, we examine how the campaign is going in the other part of the country. In this column, L’Echo colleague Alain Narinx focuses on the role of the N-VA in Wallonia.
The news that the N-VA is submitting electoral lists in Wallonia sent a small shockwave through the French-speaking election campaign. But does the party have a chance of success? Frankly, we have our doubts.
To begin with, the N-VA does not have its origins. Bart De Wever’s party embodies Flemish nationalism. She strives for independence and is anti-French speaking. Its leaders regularly express contempt and condescension about the south of the country. On the economic level, the N-VA makes no secret of the fact that it wants to reduce the infamous north-south transfers – and thus turn off the money tap for Wallonia. Would Walloon voters want to vote for a party that is against Belgium, against Wallonia and against their interests? That would be shooting themselves in the foot.
By submitting lists in the south of the country, the N-VA indirectly weakens the liberal MR.
The man who will become the face of the N-VA campaign also raises eyebrows. Drieu Godefridi is a very controversial figure, whose rhetoric borders on the extreme right. Yet he is only known to insiders, so he cannot rely on name recognition to attract voters.
Moreover, Godefridi is a candidate in Walloon Brabant, a predominantly socially liberal region. It is also the richest province in Wallonia. All the ‘misdeeds’ of Walloon socialism that De Wever is so keen to denounce are not really an issue there. It is undoubtedly a missed opportunity for the N-VA. She would have been better off putting forward a consensus figure, someone with more credibility and more appeal.
So far, all attempts to establish a viable far-right party in French-speaking Belgium have failed. Vlaams Belang has also tried, especially in Brussels, but without much success. The Parti Popculaire and the Listes Destexhe also failed to break through. In the coming elections, at least three far-right parties will also be angling for the favor of that voter segment. The highest score ever achieved by a party on the right of the MR was the 8.1 percent of the National Front (FN) in 2004, good for four elected representatives in the Walloon Parliament. Since then, no party has achieved more than 5 percent.
Still gathering votes
Finally, the N-VA no longer really appeals to the imagination. In Flanders, De Wever is no longer a symbol of innovation and drastic change. The N-VA has degenerated into a government party, which is also not exactly delivering stellar performance. As a result, it loses its luster, which partly explains the loss of votes in favor of Vlaams Belang. The French-speaking public thinks the same way.
The N-VA would have been better off putting forward a consensus figure instead of Drieu Godefridi.
Despite all these obstacles, the N-VA could still gather thousands of votes in Wallonia, and perhaps even win a seat or another. This is possible if she uses Godefridi on themes such as security and immigration, budget discipline and support for companies. You can be sure that voters will be taken away from the MR. Georges-Louis Bouchez and co. are in danger of losing valuable votes in the neck-and-neck race for the French-speaking leadership. Every vote will count. By submitting lists in the south of the country, the N-VA indirectly weakens the liberal MR. That is a present for PS chairman Paul Magnette.
Could that be De Wever’s strategy? Weaken the French-speaking right by sowing – a little – division and thus give the PS a boost? That would be even more grist to the mill for him to proclaim that those Walloons are hopeless cases, that we live in two different democracies, and that it is high time to split them.
