Local elections

[franceslievens]

No cue at the polling bureau. We went in and came back in less than half an hour. It was a nice walk in the sun, together with all the other people performing their civic duty. I do believe the ritual of going voting brings people closer together.

Comments

[sister-luck.livejournal.com]

We're getting reports here (http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,,OID5985756_REF1,00.html) that the right managed to gain ground. Is it correct that voting isn't only a civic duty, but rather a civic obligation? What is the penalty for not voting? (Sorry, I'm quite uninformed.)

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

Yes, in lots of rural communities Vlaams Belang has gained ground, mainly in communities where they weren't big yet. In my Hometown Vlaams Belang has gained one seat. Six years ago I still had to vote there. The party was non-existent then!
Like the article said, in Antwerp (the city I feared most for) Vlaams Belang stagnated. It was the current mayor that got most of the votes, and made his party the biggest of Antwerp in years. Unfortunately his coalition partners have to pay for this, but it's a sign...

No right to vote here, but an obligation to vote (and an obligation to sit at the polling bureau at least once in your lifetime, preferably the year you turn thirty). If you won't do either, you will be prosecuted and presented with a fine. It's 500 euros for not taking up your duty to sit at the polling bureau. When you don't want to pay, you'll have to go to court, with the possibility of paying even more. I don't know what the fine is for not voting. It depends if the judge decides to prosecute anyway.

[sister-luck.livejournal.com]

Thanks for clearing that up. Here, one might get an official letter asking you to sit at the polling station (and you get a little money). I don't know how they choose people, but I believe that if you're a member of a political party it is more likely that they will write to you or something like that.

When I posted the link, the results from Antwerp weren't known - I'm glad that Vlaams Belang didn't get more votes there and it seems that the concert did some good!

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

You do get a little money for sitting at the polling station. How much depends on the community. They always say it has something to do with your job -- people with certain professions don't get asked, because they are more likely not being able to sit a day, but I think they hardly take that into account. My sister turned thirty this year and she was, asked but didn't have to go, because enough people had turned up anyway.
At least I'm glad vating is computerised now. So they won't need people to count the votes!

The official results for Antwerp were out around 10, I believe. I was watching the show on tv and got the live statements of Antwerp's mayor and Vlaams Belang. It was sort of surreal. I think Vlaams Belang has reached its ceiling n Antwerp, but not in the rest of Flanders. Lot's of negativism leads people to voting for extreme right. They think they provide answers, whereas they simply show problems that aren't real problems.

[sister-luck.livejournal.com]

We've got the same problem with right-wing parties, especially in the old East, attracting protest voters who a) want to show their disappointment in the political establishment and b) seem to like the easy answers to perceived problems. Of course, their easy answers aren't answers at all, because they can never be implemented in a democratic society.
These parties are dangerous, especially if they manage to establish a lasting presence in local governments. Fortunately, most of them are prone to in-fighting and quickly disintegrate.

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

That's what seems to happen here on a local level: Vlaams Belang electorate gets itself in trouble and gets chucked out of the party. Front National in Wallonia doesn't even reach the high percentage because of the constant quarrels within the party.
But on the other hand Vlaams Belang has been founded by people that aren't nitwits, and has been able to attract candidates from other parties. The other parties have been able to keep them out of governing positions ever since that black Sunday of 1991 (when what was then still called Vlaams Blok suddenly became a party to pay attention to), even if it means a coalition of everyone against one (what has been the case in Antwerp).

[sister-luck.livejournal.com]

Yes, the people behind the scenes are usually the dangerous ones. There used to be a time when we were able to just dismiss these people as stupid, but they've become very clever. In the old East they're trying to establish themselves in the community organising family-friendly festivals and so on.
It's good when the the other parties agree that they will stand united against the right-wing extremists, but on the other hand that gives them the opportunity to say to their voters: "We're the only ones who actually care and the others are just all the same."

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

I believe it too.

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I'm not one for the big believing in rituals. :-)