Into the mainstream? A comparative analysis of the programmatic profiles of radical right-wing populist parties in Western Europe over time

Abstract

Madou Square is the location of the headquarters of the Flemish Interest, the only significant radical right-wing or national-populist party in Belgium since the Second World War. The Flemish party has survived external pressures, electoral ups and downs and internal strife since its foundation. Geographically, its headquarters are not far from the government buildings at Law Street, but the distance is considerable. Mainstream parties in Belgium: the Social Democrats, Liberals and Christian Democrats together with the Greens imposed a cordon sanitaire in 1989 which has been maintained effectively until the present. The VB (Vlaams Belang) used to favour European integration, mainly to protect the continent against Russian and American imperialism, provided the EU would respect the identity of the different ethnic communities. Flemish Interest has its roots in the Flemish nationalist movement. When the party emerged in 1978 under the name Flemish Bloc (Vlaams Blok, VB), a large part of its activists and candidates came from Flemish nationalist organisations.