Theo Francken, former State Secretary of Asylum and Migration of the centre-right N-VA, and several members of the extreme-right party Vlaams Belang, among which party leader Tom Van Grieken, have spent the entire Friday morning fighting on Twitter.
On Friday morning, Chris Janssens (Vlaams Belang) pleaded on Flemish radio to reserve social housing only for people who speak Dutch and have the Belgian nationality.
"There should be a minimum condition for newcomers, they first have to contribute to the social system before they can take advantage of it. Those who do not speak Dutch, those who do not have our nationality, should not be entitled to social housing. That is important to us. If these kinds of policy measures end up in the coalition agreement, we will, of course, support this," he said.
However, that proposal is legally impossible, Francken (N-VA) made clear. "I have been waiting for Vlaams Belang's first migration proposals for MONTHS. Nothing. Nada. Zero," he tweeted. "What legal nonsense. NONSENSE," he added.
Wat een juridische lulkoek. LULKOEK. Ik wacht intussen al MAANDEN op eerste migratievoorstellen van @vlbelang fractie Noppes. Nada. Zero.@t_pallieterke https://t.co/yO3nO9wLOs
— Theo Francken (@FranckenTheo) September 27, 2019
"Time to take your medicine, Theo," responded Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken. "It is not because the Flemish negotiations are not going your way, that you have to take it out on us #frustrated," he added.
Francken reacted: "If you cannot win in terms of content, you are attacking me personally now? If this is the way you do politics, I am glad we do not govern with you. Shame," he tweeted.
Tijd voor je pilletje Theo. (Het is niet omdat de Vlaamse onderhandelingen niet lopen zoals je wil, dat je dat op ons moet afreageren ?) #gefrustreerd — Tom Van Grieken (@tomvangrieken) September 27, 2019
The tweets kept going back and forth for the entire Friday morning, with different members of Vlaams Belang provoking Francken, to which he finally reacted with "Go and eat another sandwich 'met choco' (chocolate spread), boy," to Chris Janssens, sticking to his argument that Janssens' proposal is legally impossible.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times