In a social media campaign, Vooruit accuses CD&V chairman Sammy Madhi of “blocking women’s rights” in the abortion dossier. Mahdi reacts angrily: “Totally distasteful.”
The abortion issue is back at the top of the political agenda. The signal for the Vooruit marketers to fully tackle their political opponents, apparently. In an Instagram post, the socialists slam CD&V chairman and coalition partner Sammy Mahdi. The core of the discussion is the extension of the period within which abortion is possible. Now it is at 12 weeks. Vooruit wants to expand this to 18 weeks, CD&V to 14 weeks.
(read more under the Instagram post)
This contains inserted content from a social media network that wants to write or read cookies. You have not given permission for this.
Click here to adjust your preferences
These positions have been clear for years. But what is now particularly striking is the bitter tone of the campaign. Mahdi is pitted in the Instagram post – “blocks more women’s rights” – against Vooruit party leader Freya Van den Bossche – “fights for more women’s rights”. Mahdi’s photo was also taken in black and white, opposite a broadly smiling and healthy-colored Van den Bossche. The caption: “The far right and conservatives want to go back to the Middle Ages. By restricting or even abolishing women’s rights.”
In The Seventh Day, Mahdi responded to that Vooruit campaign. “This is completely distasteful. This is copying Vlaams Belang. And whether you copy Vlaams Belang in a café (a reference to former Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau, ed.) or on social media, in both cases the original is still better than the alternative. If this is the way we are going to campaign together, then I can already predict who will win that campaign. That’s not you, that’s not me, those are the extremes.”
Beg on your knees
The debate with Vooruit chairwoman Melissa Depraetere showed that Vooruit will not withdraw the campaign. “There is very clearly a substantive difference,” Depraetere said. “You can indeed discuss the manner in which it is done. We have tried to draw attention to this debate. And if you say, let us conduct the debate substantively, your party has been refusing to do that for 10 years.”
Mahdi even begged Depraetere to take the campaign offline. “If I may ask one thing, please, I will beg on my knees if I have to, but let’s have the substantive debate in a correct and respectful manner. Because if we are not decent, we cannot expect the voter to make a wise choice.”
But at Vooruit’s party headquarters they do not want to budge. The campaign continues as usual. The party will also use this type of campaign material on other themes, portraying the opponent in a dark manner.