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BRUXELLABAD: MUSLIMS HAVE THEIR SAY IN BRUSSELS
>From the desk of Paul Belien
Brussels Journal, Belgium
Oct 10 2006
Since last Sunday's local elections in Belgium more than one fifth
(21.8%) of the municipal councillors in Brussels, the capital of
Europe, are immigrants of non-European origin. Most of them are
Muslims, and most of them have been elected as Socialists. The
non-European immigrants vote overwhelmingly Socialist, owing to
the fact that many of them are rentseekers who migrated to Western
Europe attracted by the subsidies of its generous welfare states. The
immigrants have become the electoral life insurance of European
Socialism.
The Brussels borough of Sint-Joost-ten-Node (where the party
headquarters of the Vlaams Belang party is located) has 19 councillors
of non-European origin on a total of 27. Eleven of the 16 Socialist
councillors in Sint-Joost are non-European immigrants, as are 4 of the
5 Christian-Democrats, 2 of the 3 Greens and 2 of the 3 Liberals. The
most popular of them is Emir Kir, the Socialist secretary of state
for public monuments in the Brussels regional government. Mr Kir, who
is Turkish, wants to demolish the Brussels monument for the genocide
of the Armenians. According to him the genocide is a hoax.
Exactly 50% of the Brussels electorate are either foreigners or
naturalized Belgians. Six years ago the figure was only 32%. In
Antwerp, where 17% of the electorate are immigrants (11.5% in 2000),
one third of the Socialist councillors are Muslims. In Ghent, where
12.6% of the electorate is foreign (8.1% in 2000), one quarter of the
Socialist councillors are Muslims. In Vilvoorde, a Flemish suburb of
Brussels, where 14.8% of the electorate is foreign (9.3% in 2000),
half the Socialist representatives are Muslims.
In Antwerp, one third of the "Christian"-Democrat councillors are
Muslims, too. The latter, however, such as Ergun Top, tend to be more
moderate. As Koenraad Elst explained here earlier, they are badly
needed to counter the large Muslim presence in the Socialist Party
in the contest for the fast-growing Muslim electorate.
>From the desk of Paul Belien
Brussels Journal, Belgium
Oct 10 2006
Since last Sunday's local elections in Belgium more than one fifth
(21.8%) of the municipal councillors in Brussels, the capital of
Europe, are immigrants of non-European origin. Most of them are
Muslims, and most of them have been elected as Socialists. The
non-European immigrants vote overwhelmingly Socialist, owing to
the fact that many of them are rentseekers who migrated to Western
Europe attracted by the subsidies of its generous welfare states. The
immigrants have become the electoral life insurance of European
Socialism.
The Brussels borough of Sint-Joost-ten-Node (where the party
headquarters of the Vlaams Belang party is located) has 19 councillors
of non-European origin on a total of 27. Eleven of the 16 Socialist
councillors in Sint-Joost are non-European immigrants, as are 4 of the
5 Christian-Democrats, 2 of the 3 Greens and 2 of the 3 Liberals. The
most popular of them is Emir Kir, the Socialist secretary of state
for public monuments in the Brussels regional government. Mr Kir, who
is Turkish, wants to demolish the Brussels monument for the genocide
of the Armenians. According to him the genocide is a hoax.
Exactly 50% of the Brussels electorate are either foreigners or
naturalized Belgians. Six years ago the figure was only 32%. In
Antwerp, where 17% of the electorate are immigrants (11.5% in 2000),
one third of the Socialist councillors are Muslims. In Ghent, where
12.6% of the electorate is foreign (8.1% in 2000), one quarter of the
Socialist councillors are Muslims. In Vilvoorde, a Flemish suburb of
Brussels, where 14.8% of the electorate is foreign (9.3% in 2000),
half the Socialist representatives are Muslims.
In Antwerp, one third of the "Christian"-Democrat councillors are
Muslims, too. The latter, however, such as Ergun Top, tend to be more
moderate. As Koenraad Elst explained here earlier, they are badly
needed to counter the large Muslim presence in the Socialist Party
in the contest for the fast-growing Muslim electorate.