euro|topics - Francis Van de Woestyne

21/11/2008

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Van de Woestyne, Francis

2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

La Libre Belgique - Belgium | 16/08/2007

Yves Leterme, the man dividing Belgium

Two months after having won the legislative elections, the Christian-democrat Yves Leterme still hasn't composed his government. French-speakers and the Flemish are having a hard time agreeing on a common programme. The daily publishes a survey that shows how little Leterme is appreciated by French-speaking Belgians. He is reaping what he has sewn, considers the editorialist Francis Van de Woestyne : "What is Yves Leterme, future Prime Minister of Belgium, doing to conquer and nurture a community to which he should, as of tomorrow, be as attentive as he is to his own? What empathy has he shown? How interested is he really in the French-speaking community and Brussels inhabitants? It isn't enough to come and drink a few good beers brewed in local abbeys to claim to be attentive to millions of people. It isn't his strict image that poses a problem, we aren't asking him to go and show off on the Mediterranean coast. We just want him to open up, to open his eyes, ears and heart to people in the south and centre of the country."

La Libre Belgique - Belgium | 07/07/2006

Concerts against the extreme right

"The initiative is beautiful, courageous and musical: on October 1, a week before local council elections, concerts will take place in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp aimed at making voters more aware of the danger represented by the extreme right," notes editorialist Francis Van de Woestyne. "The idea is the brainchild of Tom Barman, leader of dEUS [the most famous Flemish rock group]. It immediately drew the major names of the Flemish and Belgian music scenes, representing a mix of styles. ... The initiative has given rise to numerous debates in Belgium. ... At a time when the majority of Flemish intellectuals is still being disturbingly circumspect, how can one fail to be delighted at the sight of charismatic figures finally taking up the cause of democracy, openness, tolerance and rebelling against the ideas of Vlaams Belang, which favours withdrawal, exclusion and hatred of all that is not Flemish?"

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