School debates as a dress rehearsal: all parties against Vlaams Belang

Put seven politicians in a school and the debate sheets make way for bold statements, a high level of entertainment and a deep aversion to Vlaams Belang. “Here we go again with the bullshit bingo of Vlaams Belang,” sneered Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD).

It is his first and last school debate of the campaign, says Alexander De Croo (Open VLD), as he serves the young people asking for selfies like a pop star. “I had my very first school debate in this school 15 years ago, so I decided to return,” says the Prime Minister, as he is photographed with four young ladies.

De Croo has just held an intense two-hour debate before 250 sixth-year students from Bernardus College in Oudenaarde, a month before the elections. He crossed swords with Petra De Sutter (Groen), Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V), Matthias Diependaele (N-VA), the lesser known Werner Somers (Vlaams Belang), Julie Steendam (PVDA) and Tina Van Havere (Vooruit), to win the hearts of the youngest voters.

The fact that top politicians take the time in the middle of the campaign to go to a school full of people over 16 puts a magnifying glass on the stakes of the elections. To stop the Vlaams Belang tsunami, every vote counts. Also that of the first time voterthe 16-year-old who will soon have to go to the polls for the first time for the European elections.

The school debate therefore resulted in a story of six against one. De Croo in particular – but also Diependaele – often returned to the ‘blablabla’ of Vlaams Belang. It made clear how difficult the political context will become if the extreme right-wing party wins almost 30 percent of the votes, as the polls predict.

It became clear in the first minute that it would be a tough fight between De Croo and Vlaams Belang. Somers, a new face on the Vlaams Belang parliamentary list, positioned himself as ‘everything that De Croo is not’. He is in fifth place in East Flanders in June – just like Forza Ninove leader Guy D’haeseleer, he comes from Ninove, something he is proud of. The Vlaams Belang cards are nowhere as good as there.

The first clash – it was loud – came when De Croo reminded the students that Vlaams Belang wants a hotline for ‘opinions that do not fit their position’, referring to the statement by Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken at the beginning September. He then said that he would ‘present the bill to the left-wing teachers’ in 2024 and called for ‘left-wing language in the classroom’ to be reported.

While De Croo warned the students against such ideas – ‘What’s the next step? Students tell on’ – Somers went completely defensive. “You are acting like a dictator who doesn’t even let me speak,” he threw at De Croo, after which he put down his microphone. “Here we go again,” De Croo sneered back. ‘In the bullshit bingo of the Vlaams Belang, it is either the fault of the French speakers, the migrants or myself.’

According to Somers, Vlaams Belang is ‘not in favor of a click line’, but our education system has ‘been engaged in left-wing indoctrination of students for years’. “Who dares to express their right-wing opinion here?” he shouted in the audience. The good students of quiet Oudenaarde did not dare to respond, or at least not and square public.

The second clash followed the theme of energy. Although De Croo and Van Peteghem emphasized several times that new nuclear power stations will be built after 2035, Vlaams Belang focused entirely on the supply uncertainty.

‘The nuclear phase-out law means that no new nuclear power stations are allowed. So what are you going to do? From 2035 onwards, let the sun shine brightly every day and let the wind blow very hard, perhaps?’ Somers shouted ironically.

When Vlaams Belang warned ‘that we are becoming dependent on the Chinese’, Diependaele could no longer hold back. “That’s what the party that allowed itself to be bribed by China says,” he said, laughing loudly, as hilarity sounded in the room.

Despite the shared aversion to Vlaams Belang, the question arose: ‘Who would you not want to be in a coalition with anyway?’ the ambiguity arises again. In contrast to the PVDA and Groen, Vooruit and Open VLD did not give a clear veto to Vlaams Belang. Van Peteghem did give Vlaams Belang a no, but immediately added that he wanted to ‘work with everyone who implements the CD&V program’.

The N-VA blew hot and cold as always. “It cannot be ruled out in principle, but my preference is not to collaborate with the extremes,” Diependaele said. ‘Vlaams Belang and the PVDA are fooling people. Reality is not a hip video on TikTok.’

Van Peteghem, who has a past as a stand-up comedian, got laughs with his dry humor. He said, among other things, that Diependaele can count because he was once taught by his father.

Van Peteghem was also appreciated in terms of content. “He is the golden mean,” says Taha Abiye Yassin, who is majoring in science-mathematics. ‘What he says about the aircraft tax is better than the extremes of Groen and Vlaams Belang.’ After the debate he changed his vote from Open VLD to CD&V.

Open VLD emerged as the winner with 37 percent of the votes, after the N-VA (25.9%) and CD&V (20%). Vlaams Belang remained at 9 percent, although that is ‘a surreal picture’ according to 17-year-old Thibault Van Luchene. ‘Had Tom Van Grieken, Barbara Pas (Parliamentary faction leader, ed.) or Chris Janssens (Flemish leader of the Flemish Parliament, ed.) Sitting here, we would have seen a completely different result.’