During every election, a poster is sometimes defaced or a sign is damaged, but in Ypres unknown people worked very meticulously: two heads were expertly sawn from their posters and the wooden election sign. The target are two leaders of N-VA for the Flemish Parliament: party leader Sander Loones from Koksijde and Ypres councilor Eva Ryde in second place. However, the latter was not deterred. “A playful response is what suits us best.”
The election board is located along the Dikkebusseweg between the Ypres village of Dikkebus and the Heuvelland village of De Klijte. “Near my grandparents’ farm,” says Eva Ryde. “It must have happened at night.” (Read more below the photo)
The sign along the Dikkebusseweg. — © Thijs Pattyn
On her social media, Ryde posted a playful photo of her posing with her son near the holes of the beheadings. “Don’t worry,” she captioned the photo. “So, right at that spot, you can see the beautiful fields and farm of my own grandparents – and generations before them – through it. A fresh Westhoek wind blows through, exactly what my ambition is to bring to the Flemish Parliament. This way we can make it an eye-catcher, good for nature, but especially for the grass clippings for the cows! Even without a face, we are still there and we like to go all the way.”
Fun slogan
Ryde personally immortalized that last pun on Sunday evening with her decapitated poster image. Word for word, she pasted the playful slogan ‘for the Westhoek, for you, we will go all the way’, including an arrow to the large hole where her head was. (Read more below the photo)
Ryde took to the board on Sunday evening to create a fun slogan. — © Thijs Pattyn
“I have no idea who could have done this,” Ryde said. “There are of course plenty of reasons why people can be angry with politics at the moment. From too little space in childcare to tackling nitrogen, trying to find affordable housing to having enough left over at the end of the month. I have a lot of understanding for that and that is precisely the reason for me to do something about it in politics. It is not the first time that I have stood for election at a supra-local level, but it is the first time in a prominent position. It is somewhat contradictory that people do such an action and it is a shame that they express anger in such a way.” (Read more below the photo)
Word for word, Ryde pasted her playful slogan — © Thijs Pattyn
Decapitation vandalism appears to be a new phenomenon. “I haven’t experienced that yet,” says Ryde. “There are the classics, such as a mustache or another treatment of your head with a marker. Every party encounters this at some point. But this was very inventive: removing a piece of a board with a saw. I don’t plan on fixing it. I see it as a signal and deal with it in a playful way. Thanks to my new slogan, that hole takes on a symbolic meaning.” Ryde already has a slogan tip for her fellow party member. “Sander has always raised the gap in the budget at the federal level,” she hints. (Read more below the photo)
“Thanks to my new slogan, that hole takes on a symbolic meaning.” — © Thijs Pattyn
“As far as I know, this is the first sign that is damaged,” Loones responds. “Every campaign has its fun and a playful response is what suits us best.”
Ryde also has a message for the perpetrator(s). “If you would like to ask or tell something: [email protected] or 0491/05.70.13. That saves some night work.”
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