Newsgroup: it.politica.ulivo
Titolo: Destra europea in ascesa

news.bbc.co.uk
*BBC NEWS / EUROPE*
Monday, 12 July, 2004, 12:53 GMT 13:53 UK
Belgium's far right builds up strength
======================================
* By Alexandra Fouché*
BBC News Online, Brussels
*Belgium's far right Vlaams Blok party scored a massive election
victory
in the regional election which took place in Flanders in mid-June and
in
the European elections which took place on the same day. *
The much reviled party garnered almost a quarter of votes in each
election - scoring 23% in the European elections and 24% in the
Flemish
poll.
This should not come as a surprise as they have been steadily gaining
ground over the last few years on a platform of anti-immigration and
Flemish independence policies.
Party chairman Frank Vanhecke is not surprised either: "We have been
the
voice of the large majority of Flemish voters," he told BBC News
Online.
"Our success is due to our programme and the bad government we have
had
for the past years."
He believes they are getting more and more mainstream. While their
success may have been originally based on their anti-immigration and
law
and order policies, it is now also based on the business community
being
interested in redressing the balance of economic power in Belgium to
their advantage.
The Vlaams Blok argues that the Flemish, richer half of Belgium are
financially bolstering their French-speaking cousins.
"Our big wins have not just come from people confronted by immigration
and crime problems; we have kept all those voters and we have added
Socialist voters, ex-voters from the liberal party and business
people,"
Mr Vanhecke says.
He believes achieving power is only a matter of time given their
recent,
encouraging results. If they do, Belgium might become a very different
place.
Flemish future
Mr Vanhecke says they would hold a vote in the Flemish Parliament on
Flemish independence and have it confirmed by a public referendum. But
this might be some way off as by his own account, only about 30%-40%
of
the population in Flanders currently supports Flemish independence.
" _ We think people should learn the language and should be prepared
to
take an oath for their children to become Flemish or European people,
to
become Flemish people among Flemish people "_
* Vlaams Blok party chairman Frank Vanhecke*
The next stage in the Vlaams Blok plan is for immigrants who display
"criminal behaviour" and those who are in the country illegally to be
sent back to their country of origin; to make it harder for immigrants
to obtain Belgian nationality; and for those in Belgium "to adapt and
respect our laws".
This would mean ditching Belgium's current policy of multiculturalism
where different nationalities can live together in the same state.
"We think people should learn the language and should be prepared to
take an oath for their children to become Flemish or European people,
to
become Flemish people among Flemish people," Mr Vanhecke says.
They single out Arabs or Muslims ("they are the same on the ground")
"as
the problem. There are no problems with Jews or Chinese people."
Court case
In the meantime, they have more pressing concerns. A Belgian court in
April convicted three party associations of breaching anti-racist
legislation.
If the ruling is confirmed in November by Belgium's highest court, the
Vlaams Blok could lose crucial state funding and could be banned from
public media.
In this case, the party would have to make some changes, such as its
name and its statute to pave the way for sharing power in local
governments, but these would be merely cosmetic, its party chairman
says.
"We will keep the programme of the party as it is, but would change
the
name and alter other 'minor points' (e.g. how the party president is
elected)," he says.
When asked his view on whether his party is racist, Mr Vanhecke says:
"It is unjust, we do not have any kind of politics on a racial basis,
our propositions generally speaking are already policy in European
countries (e.g. UK, Sweden, Netherlands)."
Media dilemma
Belgian politicians, human rights organisations and media do not see
it
that way.
Belgian politicians in Antwerp are refusing to share power with Mr
Vanhecke's group even though it now represents the second political
force in Flanders and got a third of the vote in the recent election
in
Antwerp.
Human rights groups have in the past accused the Blok of singling out
immigrants and people of North African origin in its campaign
material.
As for Belgian media, there is a now real dilemma over how to handle
the
Blok.
Belgian journalists had until recently observed an unofficial
blackout,
but with the recent success of the party, are finding it harder to
ignore this major political force in Belgian politics.
The editor of the Flemish centre-right Standaard newspaper, Peter
Vandermeersch, sent an open letter to his colleagues after the
elections
on how to best deal with the Blok.
In it, he comments on the sociological profile of newsrooms; most
journalists are university-educated, tend to be left-wing and usually
live in problem-free areas, and are out of touch with difficult areas,
he says.
"I am not pleading for a quota of degree-free journalists to be set
up,
but we should at least try so that, professionally, one does not lose
contact with the poor or difficult areas," he told the French-language
Libre Belgique newspaper.
Mr Vanhecke says his party has already noticed the changes and that in
the recent elections they received more coverage with interviews with
leaders of the party in all the main Flemish newspapers for the first
time.
(C) BBC
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Padania libera !
La capitale e' la gran Milàn !
Federalismo subito o secessione armata !
Los von Rom !
MAI MULA', TEGN DÜR !
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Per non dimenticare: tra il 1987 e il 1994, la polizia di stato
italiana incaricata di rapinare banche, uffici postali, stazioni di
servizio e supermercati ha ucciso 24 persone tra Emilia Romagna e
Marche, ferendone 114. Nel solo assalto all'ufficio postale di via
Mazzini a Bologna, l'esplosione provocata dai poliziotti fece ben 40
feriti. Per contro, i reati che rimangono impuniti sono l'80.4% su
scala regionale (dato riferito all'Emilia-Romagna) e l'82% su scala
nazionale. Per il conseguimento di tali risultati degni di una
satrapia islamica, lo stato italiano estorce a noi cittadini del Nord
fino al 72% del reddito in tasse.
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"Il tricolore e' bello da vedere,
quando ricopre la cassa del carabiniere"
"Immigration's up, treaty cost's up, crime's up... Had enough?"

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