Flemish Minister for Culture and Equal Opportunities Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) is facing criticism from opposition and coalition parties over the budget her Ministry provided to the podcast Wassalon.
The video podcast, set in a fictional washing salon, provides a platform for the LGBTQ+ community to express themselves and be who they are.
Guests are asked to bring a piece of clothing associated with a bad memory and air their grievances. The podcast has published one season with four episodes at the time of writing. According to public records, the project was given an €800,000 budget for three years.
The budget, when weighed up against the relatively low audience reached, has created a storm in Flemish politics.
"The Agency for Domestic Governance has its own podcast about ‘being yourself’," centrist independent MP Maurits Vande Reyde said on social media. "I asked today how much it cost. 800,000 euros. For a podcast with barely any reach. Of which there are a hundred others. Including many from the VRT, and therefore also funded by public money."
Flemish Minister for Culture, Caroline Gennez. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
Even Gennez's coalition partners criticised the funding. "It seems like a lot of money for a simple podcast," Freya Perdaens of the Flemish nationalists (N-VA) said about the budget. "I question whether this will contribute in any way to them [the LGBTQ+ community, ed.] feeling safe."
The episodes have only accumulated around two thousand views each at the time of writing. Several short clips uploaded to YouTube have reached hundreds of thousands of views. According to Vande Reyde, this was achieved through paid promotion of the clips.
With the podcast, Minister Gennez wants to provide an answer to disinformation and influencers from the 'manosphere'. According to her, data and monitoring show a need for campaigns promoting equality.
"Attacking and ridiculing policies striving for equality fits the extreme parties," Gennez stated in a press release. "It shows a lack of understanding and knowledge of awareness campaigns. They want to cast a judgement on an ongoing process."
Her ministry will evaluate the project in September. Two more seasons are scheduled to be produced and released.
