Voice of Europe, October 16, 2018

The local election in Flanders has been very successful for the Flemish nationalists of “Vlaams Belang”, party chairman Tom van Grieken says on the party’s website.

According to van Grieken the party has doubled its 2014 election result with more than half a million of votes.

“Our party will be the third in the country and if you’re doubting, or the media is doubting: The big winner is Vlaams Belang, Vlaams belang is back”, the chairman said during his victory speech on Sunday.

Van Grieken points to municipalities like Aalst (17 per cent), Roeselare (15 per cent ), Turnhout (18 per cent) and Ninove (40 per cent), where the party was very successful.

The party would like to rule with the large centre-right N-VA party, according to van Grieken.

“In several locations we see that Vlaams Belang and N-VA made progress. In almost twenty municipalities we can form a majority together, to give the voter a right-wing Flemish policy, he said.

On the party’s website van Grieken calls the election result a victory “for the normal Fleming who resists against the increasing immigration which threatens our welfare, culture and social model”.

Almost a year ago one of the party’s leading members spoke of an ‘Islamic takeover’ in an interview with us.

Filip Dewinter who launched his book called ‘resistance’ at that time, then said:

“In several Belgian cities like Brussels and Antwerp, Muslims have created territorial Islamic enclaves. In those enclaves the large majority of the population are Muslims: women wear a headscarf or a hijab, shops only sell halal and everybody speaks Arabic.

In fact it suggests of a hostile Islamic takeover. The imam replaced the mayor, and local drug gangs terrorise the police, so the no-go-zones can become small Islamic Kalifats.”