Vlaams Belang spent € 3.2 million on the 26 May elections campaign, a large part of the € 4.5 million in its coffers, according to research by the University of Leuven.
This information was published by the Vives Research Institute in De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and Belang van Limburg.
"Vlaams Belang decided to significantly reduce its financial reserves," said the political scientist Bart Maddens, who led the study with colleagues Gert-Jan Put and Gunther Vanden Eynde. "The gamble has paid off." Vlaams Belang won the elections and has seen its annual grant climb from € 5.5 million to € 7.8 million.
A loss of € 2.2 million was recorded last year by Vlaams Belang, mainly due to expenses related to October’s municipal elections.
The combined Flemish parties put in € 22 million for the Flemish, Federal and European election campaigns, half a million less than in 2014. With € 5.8 million in campaign money, the N-VA is the party that spent the most, and it was also its most expensive campaign since its existence in the political landscape.
Next are the Open VLD and CD&V . For the first time, Vlaams Belang invested more than some traditional parties.
Sp.a, Groen and PVDA invested the least.
The Brussels Times
