A new poll has shown that Belgians reject a cordon sanitaire against the radical left party, the Belgian Workers Party (PTB-PVDA).
A poll conducted by Ipsos-Le Soir-RTL Info-Het Laatste Nieuws-VTM asked Belgians how they feel about an extension of the ‘cordon sanitaire’, historically associated with the far-right, to exclude the radical leftist party from power. This follows PTB’s joining municipal coalitions in Mons, Forest, Molenbeek, and possibly Schaerbeek.
Yet the idea of applying a cordon sanitaire around PTB-PVDA is not popular in Belgium, even if differences are noted across regional borders.
The Ipsos survey shows overall in Belgium, 51% are against a ‘cordon sanitaire’ being extended to the Belgian Workers’ Party, while 31% are in favour, and 18% are indifferent. The biggest opposition to a cordon is seen in Flanders (55%), compared to 49% in Brussels and 44% in Wallonia.
When asked whether it was acceptable that PTB-PVDA entered into power at the municipal level, Flanders had the highest share of being against (44%). However, the number of people who are "indifferent" is the same as those in favour (28%).
Simon De Beer (PTB), Mayor Charles Spapens (PS), Severine De Lavaleye (Ecolo) pictured during a press conference to present the new coalition, Monday 25 November 2024, in Forest. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Landemard
In Brussels, 54% are in favour (versus 38% against), while in Wallonia, it was 49% in favour (versus 39% against). This pushed the national average of being against PTB in power to 42%, while those in favour of it amounted to 38%.
These findings suggest that, while people may not want PTB in power in their local communes, a majority are against a coordinated political effort to keep them out of power, as argued by MR. Meanwhile, the cordon sanitaire around the far-right appears to be collapsing amid a surge in support for the far-right, notably in Flanders.
What is the cordon sanitaire?
The cordon sanitaire was a Belgian political agreement from the 1980s for parties not to work with the far-right. At the time, it was Vlaams Blok, who were growing in support at the time. The party was eventually convicted for violating anti-racism laws and was banned in 2004, leading to the formation of Vlaams Belang in its wake.
Since the 2024 local elections, the cordon sanitaire has been broken in three Flemish municipalities: Izegem, Ranst and Brecht, as was announced on Tuesday. In Ninove too, the Vlaams Belang list ‘Forza Ninove’, an apparent reference to the violent Italian far-right movement Forza Nuova, won an absolute majority despite an investigation into electoral fraud concerning proxy votes.
Vlaams Belang's Barbara Pas and Stefaan Sintobin pictured during a protest "against intimidation" organised by Vlaams Belang, in Izegem, Wednesday 30 October 2024. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
During this electoral year, the French-speaking liberals MR, led by George-Louis Bouchez, have led a vociferous campaign (even more so than their Flemish right-wing counterparts) for a cordon sanitaire to be applied to the Belgian Workers Party. They argue that there is an equivalence with the political programme of far-right parties such as Vlaams Belang.
In Liege, Bouchez has asked for specific clauses in agreements which would exclude PTB from any future coalition over the next six years, and threatened "consequences" for the coalitions in Mons and Forest.
ULB professor Emilie Van Haute spoke to BX1 earlier this month to clarify Bouchez's attempts at drawing an equivalence between the Belgian Workers Party and Vlaams Belang.
"This is a debate that MR is trying to conduct by putting it on the same footing as the far-right cordon sanitaire. [A left-wing] cordon sanitaire does not exist in reality," Van Haute told BX1. There is a consensus among political scientists that the PTB is "anti-system" but is also a "democratic party that does not have the same anti-democratic agenda as the far-right," she stressed.
