Former DéFI leader Olivier Maingain expressed surprise on Tuesday at the lack of French-speaking reactions to a photograph with Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) and French far-right figure Marion Maréchal.
The image was taken on the sidelines of the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) party meeting last Thursday, and showed the Belgian PM alongside leading far-right figures in Europe.
"Some do not see the danger of governing with the N-VA, as if it has changed," commented Maingain on La Première (RTBF).
"When I see Mr De Wever posing with Ms Maréchal-Le Pen, in a photo with European far-right members, and there are not many French-speaking reactions, including from the francophone partners in the federal majority, I think we are going backwards," Maingain continued.
The N-VA is a member of the ECR group in the European Parliament. The ECR party meeting that De Wever attended is similar to gatherings held by other pan-European formations before each summit, bringing together party leaders and affiliated or close government heads.
Credit: Marion Marechal Le Pen / X
During the event, De Wever was joined by other far-right ECR Council members. Among these, there were the Italian and Czech Prime Ministers Giorgia Meloni and Peter Fiala.
Also present were ECR party leader and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (Law and Justice, PiS), ECR vice-president Marion Maréchal (Identity and Democracy) and the banned far-right Romanian presidential candidate George Simion (Alliance for the Unity of Romanians).
Following the summit, Bart De Wever praised Meloni ("I find her position very good") and Fiala in front of the press.
He also emphasised the need to maintain good relations with other European Council members given the presence of several former members of the EPP (Christian Democrats), noting that this might alarm some French speakers.
DeFI leader Olivier Maingain leaves after a meeting with the King at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Tuesday 28 May 2019. Credit: Belga
"For now, I don’t see any difficulty operating within the ECR. Yes, there are parties here that are far to my right, well beyond for some.
But there is something to criticise in every European family. Look at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who until recently was with the Christian Democrats. At the European level, we don’t choose 100%; we practise realpolitik," he concluded.
