11 Facts About Vlaams Belang

Vlaams Belang is a Flemish nationalist, anti immigration, right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium.

Vlaams Belang is a rebrand of Vlaams Blok, which dissolved after a trial in 2004 condemned the party for racism.

Direct predecessor of the Vlaams Belang was the Vlaams Blok, which was formed by the nationalist right-wing and national conservative faction of the People's Union which had emerged in the late 1970s.

The ideology of the Vlaams Belang Blok started out with its radical nationalist rejection of the People's Union compromise on the Flemish autonomy issue, and later increasingly focused on immigration and security, exploitation of political scandals, and defense of traditional values.

The immigration positions of the Vlaams Belang Blok were subject to much controversy, particularly after the party released its 70-point plan, and the Vlaams Belang Blok was forced to disband in 2004 after a political trial ruled that it sanctioned discrimination.

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In Belgium in 2001, Roeland Raes, the ideologue and vice-president of Vlaams Belang Blok, gave an interview on Dutch TV where he cast doubt over the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

The Vlaams Belang instituted a number of changes in its political program, carefully moderating or discarding some of the more radical positions of the former Vlaams Blok.

Policies of the Vlaams Belang focus mainly on the issues of Flemish independence, opposition to multiculturalism, and defence of traditional Western values.

Vlaams Belang supports returning Brussels to the full control of Flemish region as opposed to its current state as a bilingual capital region.

Former Vlaams Belang Blok was, according to political scientist Cas Mudde, only very rarely accused of anti-Semitism – and even then, it was strongly condemned by the party leadership.

Vlaams Belang underlined that Ali supposedly made the statement on the occasion of a debate organised by the left-liberal think tank Liberales, whose president is Dirk Verhofstadt who is known for regularly publishing accusations against the party.