In a video posted on his social media, current Antwerp mayor and Belgium's probable next Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) dressed up as Sinterklaas to seemingly take a swipe at the country's French-speaking community by admonishing the "naughty children" in Brussels for not speaking Dutch.
Some are taking De Wever's video as a joke, but the message's timing is remarkable; De Wever is in the middle of slow-going negotiations to form the Federal Government. While his task as formator (and possibly soon-to-be Prime Minister) is to bring together Flanders and Wallonia, the video raises questions about how he would lead the country and risks alienating the country's French speakers.
"Who is knocking on the door? It's Sinterklaas, he's back in the country," says a dressed-up De Wever in the Antwerp City Hall. "The Sint is a bit sad because he has to go to Brussels every day. There are so many naughty, naughty children there. Children who sometimes cannot even speak Dutch to the Sint, it's terrible. Des gamins terribles (terrible children)!"
Outgoing Brussels State Secretary Ans Persoons of the Dutch-speaking socialist Vooruit party called De Wever's video "but something to cry about" on social media. "Anyone with a modicum of goodwill to make something of Brussels and Belgium is incredibly disheartened by this."
Niet om te lachen maar om te huilen.
Iedereen met een beetje goede wil om iets van Brussel & België te maken wordt hier vooral ontzettend moedeloos van. https://t.co/ojTO0NDqlu — Ans Persoons (@AnsPersoons) December 5, 2024
The thinly-veiled criticism of the French-speaking party leaders De Wever has been in difficult negotiations with for the past six months will likely not help the already tense Federal Government formation talks.
Meanwhile, the formation of the Brussels Government is also halted, after French-speaking socialist PS quit negotiations earlier this week when it became clear that De Wever's N-VA would be part of the Dutch-speaking majority for the first time in the history of the Capital Region.
'SPQA'
While De Wever has not made it a secret that he does not like Brussels, the video shows him full of praise for his own city. "When Sinterklaas comes back to Antwerp, he becomes happy again. And I am going to share that happiness with you this year, by replacing my traditional Sinterklaas staff with this very nice Antwerp version."
The video shows De Wever taking his infamous eagle staff with the 'SPQA' inscription (an allusion to the Latin 'SPQR' – which means 'the Senate and the People of Rome' – but referring to Antwerp instead of the Roman Empire) that his eldest son carried on the day of the municipal elections. "I wish you all happy holidays."
Interestingly, De Wever drawing attention to the fact that he is trading his "traditional Sinterklaas staff" for a "very nice Antwerp version" has raised questions about a possible double meaning. With his next visit to the King coming up on Tuesday, some are wondering if the formator is hinting that he is considering trading in his potential Prime Minister position to remain mayor of his beloved Antwerp.
