A local list in the Flemish municipality Izegem has entered into government with the far-right party Vlaams Belang. It is the second commune to breach the cordon sanitaire following local elections on Sunday 13 October.
The cordon sanitaire is an agreement between Belgian political parties not to enter into government with the far-right. The rule was introduced in 1989 following the far-right party Vlaams Blok's (Vlaams Belang's predecessor) electoral success on Black Sunday in 1982.
On Saturday, Izegem's local list Stip+ (made up of independents and Open VLD candidates) announced that it would enter into a coalition with Vlaams Belang. Independent candidate Kurt Grymonprez will become mayor.
Stip+ has emphasised that the coalition will put local interests first and has nothing to do with trends in national politics.
"It wasn’t an easy choice, but we chose for the voter," said Grymonprez.
"We’ve formed a coalition with people who are 100% for Izegem," said Stip+ list leader Dominique Stove.
'The only option'
Stip+ came first in local elections on 13 October with ten seats. N-VA obtained eight seats, Vlaams Belang won five and the CD&V and Vooruit-Groen lists secured three seats each.
Grymonprez first considered a coalition with CD&V and Vooruit-Groen, but CD&V chose to negotiate with N-VA instead and Vlaams Belang became the only option, the future mayor told the press conference.
Stove added that all options were considered before finalising the agreement with Vlaams Belang. "We had a good relationship with Vooruit-Groen and even had an agreement with CD&V last week, but they withdrew an hour later."
Open VLD members quit
Two Open VLD members belonging to the Stip+ list have left the group following the decision to breach the cordon sanitaire. This was confirmed by party spokesperson Thomas Martens.
Nigel Casier and Matthias Leenknecht intend to send their official resignation via email, but Martens noted that this has not yet been received.
"If they do not send it, they will be expelled," said Martens. "By [Saturday evening], they will no longer be members of Open VLD, regardless."
Writing on social media, Open VLD leader Eva de Bleeker stated: "Our line is clear: whoever forms a coalition with Vlaams Belang cannot be a member of Open VLD. That was the case in the past and it will remain so, in any municipality or level of government."
Onze lijn is duidelijk: wie een coalitie sluit met Vlaams Belang kan geen lid zijn van Open Vld. Dat was in het verleden zo en dat blijft zo. In het om het even welke gemeente of bestuursniveau.
— Eva De Bleeker (@EvaDeBleeker) October 26, 2024
Around 100 people gathered to protest against the decision on Saturday afternoon, chanting slogans such as "not our government" and "no fascists in Izegem".
This is the second time the cordon sanitaire has been broken at the local level since municipal elections two weeks ago. A local list in Ranst also entered into a coalition with Vlaams Belang.
The far-right party also obtained an absolute majority for the first time in history in Ninove. There is an ongoing investigation into possible electoral fraud in the form of illegal proxy voting.
