A mural depicting a kiss between N-VA leader Bart de Wever and Mouvement Réformateur (MR) leader Georges-Louis Bouchez has appeared in Antwerp.
The image of the two Belgian politicians on Bolivar Place in Antwerp is a nod to the 'Fraternal Kiss' mural on the east side of the Berlin Wall, painted by Dmitri Vrubel in 1990. The original work captures the moment when Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart Erich Honecker, Secretary-General of the Socialist Unified Party of Germany, kissed during a conference in 1979.
Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
This latest Belgian take comes at a time when De Wever and Bouchez hold strong positions in government formation following elections on 9 June. Bouchez' MR emerged victorious in Wallonia with 29.6% of votes and is in the process of forming a coalition with centre-right partners Les Engagés.
The French-speaking liberals also did well in Brussels and at the regional level, with 26% and 10.3% of votes respectively. Meanwhile, N-VA came out on top in the latter (16.7%) and in Flanders (23.9%). There is talk of De Wever becoming Prime Minister, but in any case, the two right-wing politicians are at the centre of any future coalitions ruling Belgium and its regions.
It remains unknown who painted the mural. Two years ago, energy ministers Zuhal Demir (N-VA) and Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) appeared in a similar reincarnation of Vrubel's work in Antwerp. On that occasion, energy platform Bolt took ownership of the art, explaining that it wanted to encourage "a solidarity-based and sustainable climate policy".
