“I am completely done with that looking away behavior from the left”

“I am completely done with that looking away behavior from the left”, says Theo Francken in a weekend interview The last news. “The debate about migration remains sour and needs to be more rational. Stop looking away ”, says the former state secretary. In addition to the little surprising swipe to the left, Francken is also remarkably sharp for Vlaams Belang and for Dries Van Langenhove. “Claiming that I let those rioters in is untrue and false. If you don’t know what you are talking about, you better play ping-pong. ”, so he bites off.

Theo Francken shows himself to be competitive during the interview, but also occasionally hits a mea culpa: “Of course I do regret some of the statements or tweets I have made. I admit: it was sometimes too big and sometimes too short. But I am a learning being and I have learned along the way. ”

He does not regret his political choices. Francken learned the political craft in the cabinet of Geert Bourgeois, and was one of the founders of N-VA. He is still proud of that: “We are now the largest party in the country and I am happy that I was able to make my mark, including as Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration. ”

Francken was nevertheless often attacked on his policy during the election campaign and afterwards. For example, Vlaams Belang introduced the “joke” with the puns “Theo-rie” and “Theo-practice”. Francken usually let that go. He was also always careful not to pull too hard against the Vlaams Belang and certainly not against his direct Flemish-Brabant competitor Dries Van Langenhove.

(Read more below this tweet)

It would be interesting for the political debate that from now on we mention for each perpetrator under which migration minister he (or possibly his parents) entered, do you think that is a good idea @FranckenTheo, @Maggie_DeBlock in co? https://t.co/8teknps2Ab

– Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) August 17, 2020

On Twitter, Van Langenhove recently aimed his arrows at Francken. He insinuated, among other things, that Francken admitted the amok makers of Blankenberge as State Secretary … In the interview, the former State Secretary responds as if stung by a wasp: “Ah, Dries… Choose Dries and he will send them all back? Populism. I did not ‘let those guys in’ at all because they were born and raised here. Their parents or grandparents became Belgians via the SnelBelgwet van Verhofstadt. I also abolished the SnelBelgwet in 2012. I did not ‘let anyone in’ during the European asylum crisis of 2015-2016. They invaded Southern Europe and then traveled illegally to Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands. ”

“The only ones I actively let in are a few hundred Syrian Christians because otherwise they would have been exterminated by those monsters of IS.”

And Francken continues: “What Dries Van Langenhove says is absurd. Immediately after the riot in Blankenberge, the N-VA put concrete measures on the table for a safe Flemish coast, including a ban on places and a black list for amok makers. ” The latter is correct. Daphné Duméry mayor of Blankenberge gave 3 of the 20 amok makers one place ban on.

Theo Francken: “It is striking that Vlaams Belang N-VA has been constantly attacking recently.”

But Francken does not spare his criticism and continues with the same impetus: “Vlaams Belang and Dries have not yet submitted a single bill to achieve this. What’s more, their parliamentary work contrasts sharply with their honking on social media. ” […] By the way, I have noticed that Vlaams Belang N-VA has been constantly attacking N-VA lately. And then complain that they have no friends and are not allowed to play. ”

Despite the harsh criticism of Vlaams Belang, Francken continues to show understanding. For example, he thinks that Van Langenhove was recently tackled too heavily from the left: “I stood up for him in response to that disgusting Humo video and that Twitter campaign in which he is murdered. That’s about it, period. The left thinks it can afford anything, but ‘mainstreaming’ such hate messages is extremely dangerous ”.

Francken refers to what happened to Pim Fortuyn. Francken himself knows only too well what that feels like. At the time, he was depicted in Nazi uniform by the youth department of the ecologists.

Dries Van Langenhove: “According to figures, Francken has admitted hundreds of thousands of migrants”

On the one hand, Francken seems to have few problems with Van Langenhove’s criticism of his party and himself: “He can have it and express it, but it still has to make sense. Claiming that I let those rioters in is untrue and false. And that is not the first time. If you don’t know what you are talking about, you better go ping pong. ”

Dries Van Langenhove holds on to his criticism in a response to Sceptr: “I asked Francken on Twitter whether it is possible that the rioters in Blankenberge or the violentists of Leuven were allowed in by Francken himself when he was State Secretary for Asylum and Migration. Francken replies that they arrived under Verhofstadt, but that is something he cannot know. ”

According to Van Langenhove, Theo has Francken “According to the figures, hundreds of thousands of migrants have been admitted, many of whom are now effectively terrorizing our beaches, swimming pools and parks.”

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