During his annual Sporen celebration of Vlaams Belang, party chairman Tom Van Grieken on Sunday lashed out firmly at the federal government led by N-VA leader Bart De Wever. The latter has "radically lied and cheated the Flemish people and is preying on the Flemish middle class," while "nothing is happening at the community level," Van Grieken claims.
He also launched an appeal to place Brussels under Flemish guardianship.
Vlaams Belang gathered its supporters in Dendermonde on Sunday, not helped by the weather conditions, for the Sporenviering. This traditionally takes place in the run-up to the Flemish holiday and commemorates the Battle of the Spurs. "What happened in 1302 was no accident. It was the inescapable revolt of a people who had been oppressed and kept small for too long, without regard for their problems and their values," Van Grieken stated.
Today, according to the president, that drive is still alive and kicking. "Last year, more than two million Flemish people voted for a Flemish-national party, both N-VA and Vlaams Belang," he said. Although, according to him, there is a strong side note to this. "Only Vlaams Belang turned out to be worth its one million votes because never before has so little been achieved communally as with N-VA. The N-VA has not changed Belgium, but Belgium has changed the N-VA."
