Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Belgian PM De Croo responds to NatCon uproar, balancing security and free speech, stressing democratic values in managing the controversy.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo attended the Federal Parliament over the controversial circumstances surrounding the far-right National Conservative Conference (NatCon) in Brussels this week. Replying to an oral question, the Belgian leader greeted the Council of State’s decision to switch the order of the Saint-Josse mayor Emir Kir to prohibit the NatCon fundraiser, on the grounds of security.
According to Brussels Times, De Croo forwarded his take on the events, saying he interfered after getting off a plane, being informed of the condition, and speaking to the Saint-Josse mayor on the phone.
“A mayor, in this case, Emir Kir, made a decision based on a competence he has: namely, ensuring public order in his municipality. That is indeed within his authority, he is allowed to take that kind of decision, and bases it on reports he receives about it.”
How Did De Croo Handle NatCon Controversy?
De Croo emphasised that these decisions must always be taken following other more general principles, such as freedom of assembly and the right to free speech.
“I am happy that the event was able to go ahead, and I hope everyone in this room is happy that that event was able to go ahead. Not because of what was said there, which I absolutely do not agree with,” the Belgian Prime Minister informed MPs.”However, the right to associate and the right to free speech should not be something that we invoke when it suits us and do not invoke when it does not suit us. That is the essence, those are the basic values.”
The logic of the Council of State specified that the mayor should have made every step to ensure that that conference could go ahead and that he could have taken a conclusion to ban the event but then also permit the counter-demonstration to go ahead.
“That is how it works in a democracy,” De Croo declared. “With the rule of law, a body like the Council of State can say mayor, you have made a mistake, and there you must ensure that that event can go ahead.”
However, the Belgian Antifascist Coordination (CAB) replied to these claims on Thursday by pointing out that “far-right policies remain a mortal danger” to the fundamental rights of many different groups. “We therefore have a legitimate right to defend ourselves and to organise actively against them.”
But in his response, De Croo informed the Federal Parliament that the right to assembly and freedom of speech “should not be politicised. We cannot use our fundamental rights only when it suits us,” the liberal politician said. “We democrats can be expected to have a clear line in that, even if it is events where things are told that people do not agree with.”
How Did De Croo Respond to Criticisms?
De Croo also answered directly to criticisms from Vlaams Belang MP Barbara Pas, who in a statement had directed De Croo as a “mop” and tried to attract a correlation between the happening and “what laws against ‘hate speech‘ will be used for” by progressives.
“Do allow me to say that I have no lessons to learn from your party,” the liberal politician stated. “A party that, in Flanders, would like to install hotlines in schools if there are teachers who say something that Vlaams Belang does not like. So don’t come and give me lessons now [about freedom of speech].”
Did De Croo Address NatCon Fallout Effectively?
One query not addressed by the Belgian liberal prime minister is whether the far-right can minister as an honest broker in civic democratic participation, something which is usually underlined by antifascist parties as a reason behind their mobilisation.
“It takes great audacity for the worst authoritarians to hide behind freedom of speech when their entire political project is based on repression and prohibition,” the CAB said in a statement. “We asserted loud and clear what had been said after the Second World War and which many people seem to have forgotten: Never again!”
