Over two-thirds of Belgian residents want a "strong leader" and over the half of the population is in favour of more traditional societies, a new survey has revealed.
The fifth 'Ceci n'est pas une crise' ('This is not a crisis') survey commissioned by RTBF shows that 69% of Belgians want "a strong leader who appeals directly to the people, a rejection of all countervailing powers, of all representations of all elites."
This is four percentage points higher than in 2023 and 17 points higher than in 2020.
Researchers attribute this sentiment to an "anxiety-provoking context". Belgians are "emotionally impacted by the geopolitical context (war in Ukraine and risk of extension to NATO countries, Putin remaining in power, election of Trump, of Marine Le Pen, war in the Middle East, rise of anti-Semitism, etc.)." They are also impacted by "a feeling of an invasion of immigrants, and by the worsening climate disruptions that are now being felt in everyday life and are ultimately jeopardising nothing less than the habitability of the planet."
"It doesn't necessarily mean that people want a dictatorship or fascism, it's just that they feel that if someone has the power, they will be able to solve the problems more easily," researcher Jérôme Van Ruychevelt told RTBF.
Political figures have responded to these trends by simplifying messages. Researchers point out the prevalence of such an approach during the June and October elections in Belgium last year. The survey was conducted in September 2024.
Less than 20% of Belgians want a more open society
Respondents tend to belong to two different camps with two views of how society should respond to global crises.
The first is those who advocate "retribalisation", a return to a more traditional, ethnically homogenous society. The study describes retribalisation as "the appeal to the authority of a leader, the valorisation of tradition, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious homogeneity, the valorisation of emotion to the detriment of reason, order seen as 'natural' versus 'cultural, constructed', closure and mistrust of the outside perceived as threatening and of the 'invading' foreigner."
The contrasting camp is much smaller. Less than 20% of Belgians are in favour of a more open society, down from 31% in 2021.
Across the board, climate change, immigration and geopolitics are the primary concerns of Belgian citizens.
Credit: Win McNamee / Pool CNP / Belga
60% believe the consequences of climate change are visible in every day life. 34% say leaders are not doing enough in response to the crisis.
Two-thirds of Belgians "seem resistant" to immigration but have different views on how pronounced the phenomenon is.
In terms of geopolitical changes, 80% are afraid of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70% of US President Donald Trump and 40% of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
