With Belgian affairs dominated by the national election to be held on 9 June, Brussels is covered with campaign posters of the various parties eager to appeal to voters. But in one of the Capital Region's 19 municipalities, shops have been forbidden to display the political posters.
After much debate, the commune of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean has decided to rule against the posters after a motion to remove them was put forward by Didier Milis, candidate for the Movement Réformateur (MR) party.
Milis argued that the posters constitute a form of "visual pollution" and should be taken down from shops, instead only being placed on the spaces designated for the election purposes. His stance on the matter was initially met with opposition from the majority Socialist Party (PS), whose member Catherine Moureaux is mayor of the commune. But on Wednesday evening, the local council ruled to prohibit shops from displaying them.
Shop owners expressed mixed feelings about the campaign materials, which many are asked to display whilst others do so of their own accord. "It can be hard to only have posters from one party," one restaurant owner told local media channel BX1. "So now I have one of all the parties to please everyone."
Concerned that some candidates were putting pressure on shop owners, Milis said that he sees some windows "completely covered". The opposition candidate was unhappy with what he viewed as unfair tactics.
But the PS was unconvinced, saying that shop owners should have the liberty to express their views. Before Wednesday's decision, they argued that even MR was continuing to distribute the posters.
No more posters?
Despite the decision this week, posters are nonetheless still visible in many shops throughout the commune, with many shopkeepers unaware of the change in rules so close to the election.
Many voiced incomprehension about the ban and insisted that there is anything duplicitous about displaying a campaign poster, which are after all still permitted in the region's other 18 communes. Others suggested that MR – which claims to be a liberal party for entrepreneurs – was betraying its principles by denying individuals their right to harmless freedom of expression.
