BELGIUM: Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang relinquished their lead in party stronghold Antwerp, although notched gains elsewhere in nationwide local elections

Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang lost its position as biggest party in its stronghold of Antwerp on Sunday, although it made gains elsewhere in nationwide local elections. The anti-immigration party, despite advancing to 33.5 percent from the 33 percent they won in 2000, was overtaken by the Socialists led by a popular and charismatic mayor in Belgium's second largest city. The Socialists, in the governing coalition at national level, won 35.3 percent, according to final results. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt's Liberals, partners in Belgium's ruling coalition, were the day's clear losers, with support draining across Flanders nine months before a scheduled general election. The opposition Christian Democrats were the main beneficiaries. Vlaams Belang picked up extra votes in many towns and districts across Flanders, the Dutch-speaking north of the country for which it seeks independence. In one Antwerp district, over 43 percent of voters backed it. An alliance of mainstream parties has held Antwerp since 1994 to keep the Vlaams Belang from office and Socialist mayor Patrick Janssens will keep his job. Vlaams Belang wants to stop immigration and urges newcomers to Flanders to learn Dutch, accept Western values or return to their countries of origin. About a quarter of Antwerp's 460,000 residents are foreign or of foreign extraction, the majority being of North African or Turkish origin. The party wants to end recognition of Islam as a religion, arguing it is not European and does not respect Western norms. Opinion polls had predicted Vlaams Belang -- denounced by opponents as racist -- would increase its already large share of the vote after six years in opposition. "It's a mixed picture. They have made gains, but in Antwerp there's a sign that they've reached a peak, although at a very high level almost unparalleled in Europe," said Peter Thijssen, political analyst at Antwerp university. Voter concern across Europe with immigration and minorities has given the Slovak National Party a share of the power in Slovakia in June, brought Germany's NPD into another regional parliament last month and boosted support of Austria's two far-right parties to 15 percent a week ago. In Sunday's Belgian vote, the Socialists suffered limited losses in French-speaking Wallonia due to a corruption scandal. "It's a draw," Filip Dewinter, Vlaams Belang's top candidate in Antwerp, told disappointed supporters. He added that it was a "pyrrhic victory" for his opponents. While performing better than in 2000, the figures for Vlaams Belang were not as spectacular as in the regional election in 2004, when the party won almost a quarter of Flemish votes. Cas Mudde, expert on political extremism at Antwerp University, said it was a good result for the party, but one that suggested it was levelling out. The Antwerp result also undermined its record of constant improvement. "What is important is that no one knew what their maximum was. It could undermine their influence on other parties. Their fear had not been what share of the vote they were on, but how many more votes they could take," he said.

ITN Source | October 9, 2006

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