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The Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block in English) is a Flemish far-right nationalist political party which rejects the state of Belgium, calling for
political independence for the Flemish half of the country. It is also a leading force in the militant wing of the Flemish movement. It is a Euronationalist party.
The party has been characterised by the international media as being neo-nazi
and racist in nature and an appeal court in
Ghent, Belgium, ruled the party as racist on April 2004, although it contains a supposed group of moderate nationalists. Its voting track record in the Flemish and
Belgian parliaments are strong and consistent on the immigration and law-and-order
theme, but mixed for Flemish autonomy (e.g.: it abstained from a crucial vote on splitting the trade unionist electoral district
of Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde/Bruxelles-Hal-Vilvorde).
History
The party first made its appearance in the 1978 general elections. It was founded by dissatisfied members, including
a former deputy of the then Volksunie (Lode Claes) and more right-wing militants as
Karel Dillen. It has experienced a continuous electoral growth (with the
exception of the 1981 elections). The Vlaams Blok is particularly strong in and around Antwerp, where it received thirty-three percent of the votes in the
last municipal elections.
Since the end of the eighties, its main focus tends to be on "euronationalist" themes such as immigration and
criminality. Because of this evolution, some members have left the party, but this doesn't seem to have caused much electoral
damage. Many studies and opinion polls show that its electoral support is mainly based on its tough image on immigration and
criminality, and on its image as the "only real opposition party", rather than on its platform for the creation of an independent
Flemish republic. In fact, some polls show that a majority of its electorate is
opposed to the disappearance of the Belgian monarchy.
In 1996, Karel Dillen, who was "President for life" since 1977,
appointed Frank Vanhecke as
his successor. It is believed by many that Filip De Winter is the party's real strong man.
In 2003, a Vlaams Blok politician was dropped from a delegation of Flemish
parliamentarians due to visit the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly after strongly criticizing the SNP [1] , [2] .
In April 2004, an appeal court in Ghent,
Belgium, ruled the party as racist and found it guilty of breaching anti-racism law. The court ruled that the party regularly
portrays foreigners as "criminals who take bread from the mouths of Flemish workers" and found it guilty of "permanent incitement
to segregation and racism.", [3] .
In the federal parliament, it is now the fifth-largest party in Belgium, with 11.6 percent of the Belgian vote and 17.9
percent of the Flemish vote. It has 18 seats in the federal chamber of representatives. It had its best electoral result to date
in the Belgian regional elections,
2004, becoming the second largest party in the Flemish
Parliament, with 24.1% of the vote, increasing its number of seats with 10 to 32 out of 124. With 7 seats out of 24, it is
the largest party on Antwerp city council [4] . The other political parties have
imposed a cordon sanitaire on the party since the general elections of 1991, refusing all cooperation.
External links
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