Groen co-president Nadia Naji and Vooruit president Conner Rousseau are open to future local coalitions with PVDA, the Dutch-speaking counterpart of PTB.
This was revealed during a major debate on local elections organised by VTM, which brought together the leaders of seven major parties in Flanders. No party expressed a willingness to work with Vlaams Belang.
Party leaders were questioned on their stance towards potential coalitions with Vlaams Belang and PVDA. While all leaders, except Tom Van Grieken of Vlaams Belang, ruled out coalitions with the far-right, Naji and Rousseau did not rule out collaborating with the far-left.
Rousseau pointed out: “We already govern with PVDA in Zelzate, so it would be very awkward to oppose them here.”
Naji explained: “One party has been convicted of racism, the other has not. That’s the difference for us.”
Tom Van Grieken, excluded by other parties, criticised the “cordon sanitaire” as problematic, saying, “It excludes a million Flemish people. The real losers are right-wing Flemings who want to see different policies.”
Out of one hundred mayors surveyed during the debate, six did not rule out a coalition with Vlaams Belang. This group included an N-VA mayor, prompting party president Bart De Wever to respond, “In the party council, we asked about local sections’ ambitions regarding Vlaams Belang, and no one had such ambitions. I am convinced that it will not happen.”
