"I Apologize for Guy Verhofstadt, a Disgrace to My People"

Guy Verhofstadt is like the Soviets, a centrist and a particularly obsessed fanatic for whom I apologize to the Hungarians, said Belgian MEP Gerolf Annemans in an exclusive interview for Magyar Nemzet at CPAC Hungary. The Flemish Vlaams Belang (VB) party MEP stressed that no country should be punished for opposing the European Union by pursuing right-wing policies. He agrees with Prime Minister Viktor Orban's position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that the warring parties should sit down at the negotiating table and end the war madness.

Belgian MEP Gerolf Annemans at CPAC Hungary 2024 (Photo: Sandor Csudai)

What are the chances for your party, Vlaams Belang (VB), in the EU elections in June?

We have been leading all the polls since the last election, when we got 18-19%, while the latest poll showed 26-27%. Vlaams Belang is increasingly becoming the only alternative for the Flemish people to change the regime that governs us. For the last forty years, our country has been run by parties that have acted against the will of the Flemish people. Flemish and Walloon people live together in Belgium, and many Flemish people always vote for those who speak to them authentically and promise them more autonomy. We are Flemish nationalists and we are the only ones making a credible offer to Flanders. In our country, all voting, federal, Flemish, Walloon and Brussels elections, will be happening on the same day in June. The consequences of the elections will therefore be felt not only in the European Parliament, but also - and this is more important for us - in all the parliaments of Belgium, especially in Flanders, where Vlaams Beland can play an important role in regime change.

No more war, says Belgian MEP Gerolf Annemans (Photo: Sandor Csudai)

What is your plan for the regime change?

The Flemish government, if necessary in a majority coalition, will take on the responsibility of giving the Flemish people what they want: more Flanders and right-wing policies on migration, security and economic governance. We want the European Union to be what most of you have talked about at today's conference: a return to the roots, based on the principle of subsidiarity, with the member states at the helm.

What is your opinion of the current leaders of Europe punishing Hungarians by withholding the financial resources that are rightfully ours?

In the European Parliament, Vlaams Beland has always voted against any measure taken to the detriment of Hungarians. We would have done the same for any member state that was made a victim of Article 7. This is not because we agree with everything Hungary does, but because we 

we do not want to see even one bloc member punished for having a more right-wing identity and for thus going against the position of the European Union.

We voted against everything that the EU Parliament adopted.

What do you think about Guy Verhofstadt's behavior?

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of the Flemish people for the man Mr Verhofstadt has become. He started the Flemish Liberal Party as a party serving Flemish interests and promised Flanders to the Flemish people.

He has become a centrist and a particularly fanatical and obsessed man, who most resembles the Soviets and wants to use the power of the European Union to create an empire from nothing. 

Until the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, the Flemish benefited from European economic cooperation, which then turned into a Soviet-style centralized imperial state that must end as soon as possible. I apologize for everything Verhofstadt has done, he is a disgrace to my people.

What do you think is the most effective way to take up the gauntlet against woke and LGBTQ propaganda?

We believe that everything that the woke agenda is trying to impose on people should be returned to the competence member states. I myself, as a Fleming, have a slightly different view of homosexual relationships and marriage than the Hungarians, but we believe that you have the right to decide for yourselves on this issue, just as we decide for ourselves. 

In no way is this a competence of the European Union. It cannot be approached from a human rights perspective, that would be nonsense.

People should have the right to shape their society to their own liking, especially on sexual rights, and to protect their children in school from whatever the woke adherents try to push. It is for the people and the member states to decide, not the European Union.

What do you think of Viktor Orban and his government's anti-war stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

We are very sad about the war and I have the same opinion as Viktor Orban, we are on the same side. The current war atmosphere, not only in the European Parliament but throughout the European Union, is similar to the atmosphere of 1914, when a terrible world conflagration broke out because of war hysteria and because peace was not being protected. We are seeing the same thing now. Wars are not caused by nationalism, as the Verhofstadt-types have always claimed, but by empires fighting each other and failing to understand that we should not interfere in the lives of the peoples of smaller countries. That is what is happening now, 

and we should steer clear of war and try to achieve peace talks. 

All this should be based on the fact that the Russians had no right to invade Ukraine, and we should help the Ukrainians make this clear to Putin. I say let's sit down at the table and finally put an end to the war madness. As a pro-peace Flemish nationalist, I say: no more war!

Cover photo: Belgian MEP Gerolf Annemans at CPAC Hungary 2024 (Photo: Sandor Csudai)