BRUSSELS — In a historic moment for the far-right in Belgium, King Philippe received the leader of the anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang party at the royal palace on Wednesday, the first time the party has been granted such an audience. “I was pleased with the invitation,” Van Grieken told reporters outside the palace after the royal audience. What happened over the past 40 years was not democratic.”As usual after elections, the king meets with party leaders to help ease coalition talks. But Belgian monarchs traditionally respect a “cordon sanitaire” — a symbolic political fence erected by mainstream parties to isolate Vlaams Belang. In Sunday’s elections, Vlaams Belang — which backs independence for Flanders — won 17 seats in the 150-seat Flemish parliament, up from just three in 2014.

Source: National Post May 29, 2019 09:56 UTC