If Belgium held elections today, the country would face a major regional divide: the radical left PTB/PVDA in Brussels, the far-right Vlaams Belang in Flanders, and the Parti Socialiste (PS) in Wallonia would become the largest parties.
The results come from an Ipsos opinion poll for HLN, VTM NIEUWS, RTL, and Le Soir among 2,600 Belgians.
According to the poll, the radical left PTB/PVDA would become the largest party in the Belgian capital at 23.3%, followed by PS (French-speaking socialists) and Vooruit (Flemish socialists) at 22.2%. At the previous election in Brussels in 2024, PTB/PVDA scored significantly lower at 16.7%.
The party's success is largely thanks to the popularity of its leader, Raoul Hedebouw, who was voted the most popular politician in both Brussels and Wallonia.
Meanwhil, the liberals of MR (Francophone) and Anders (Flemish) continue to poll significantly below their latest election results, as the party of Brussels' Minister-President Boris Dilliès (MR) only secured support from 15.7% of the people in the poll, a long way down from the 23.1% in 2024.
Greens Groen (Flemish) and Ecolo (French-speaking), and Flemish nationalist N-VA saw limited growth in the poll, while Flemish Christian Democrats CD&V and Francophone centrist Les Engagés scored around their election result. Brussels regionalist DéFI and Team Fouad Ahidar lost considerable support.
Behind Hedebouw, former Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès (MR) and PS party leader Paul Magnette are the most popular politicians.
PTB's Raoul Hedebouw; Prime Minister Bart De Wever and PS' Paul Magnette pictured during a plenary session of the Chamber at the Federal Parliament in Brussels. Credit: Belga/Dirk Waem
Wallonia to the left, Flanders to the right
According to the poll, more than one in four people in Flanders support the far-right Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang. With 27.8% of the votes, it has taken a considerable lead over the party of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. His N-VA score was 23%, slightly below its results in 2024, when it became the largest party in the region at 25.6%
The poll showed an absolute majority for Flemish nationalist parties in the region, as Vlaams Belang and N-VA combined scored just over 50%.
CD&V (13.3%) overtakes Vooruit (12.9%) as the third largest party in Flanders, while Groen (6.2%) and Anders (6.1%) slip further down the ranking. PVDA is now ahead of both parties at 10%.
Bart De Wever remains the most popular politician in the region, ahead of party leaders Tom Van Grieken (Vlaams Belang) and Conner Rousseau (Vooruit).
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In Wallonia, the two traditional frontrunners have swapped places in the poll. MR has lost momentum after the previous elections in 2024, dropping from 28.2 to 20.3%, while PS has once again taken over as the largest party in the south, climbing to 29% from 22% in the previous election.
PTB has taken the third spot in Wallonia, as the party's result grew to 18.9%. Les Engagés paid the traditional price smaller coalition parties pay for participating in the Federal Government, as they slipped down to 17.6%. Ecolo grew slightly to 8.9%.
