Belgium: Against the Government and Its Parties, (Not So Much) with the People

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Belgium while the country was undergoing another protracted process of government formation, amid increasing polarization between the country’s Flemish and Walloon regions and their respective right- and left-wing political parties. In its response to the pandemic, Flanders’ populist radical right party, the Vlaams Belang (VB; Flemish Interest), conflated the protracted health crisis and this apparent crisis of government in the country. However, while it employed crisis language, the VB did not frequently call upon the “pure” people in its approach to COVID-19. Instead, the VB balanced a populist radical right framing of COVID-19 with a more typical anti-government response. The party’s moderation and professionalization processes and the dynamics of party competition are identified as two possible causes underpinning this approach to COVID-19.