“Who will best protect my purchasing power?” Vooruit wants the coming elections to be the answer to that question for as many Flemish people as possible. The party has been building on this since the previous elections, former Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau said a few weeks ago at a marketing conference in Amsterdam. In order to re-engage the average working class people, Rousseau, as the new chairman, focused on the theme of purchasing power after the election defeat in 2019. He made the theme tangible by throwing “Debora from the cash register” into the public debate.
Although Rousseau’s successor Melissa Depraetere kicked off the campaign at the beginning of this year by profiling her party as “the only dam against the extreme right”, she will still focus on Rousseau’s “winning question” about purchasing power at the election congress next Saturday. In the almost 300-page election manifesto that will be definitively defeated by Vooruit members on Saturday, the chapter on purchasing power is by far the largest part at almost 90 pages. The fact that Flemish people are concerned about the issue is also evident from De Stemming, the poll by De Standaard and VRT NWS. After migration, it remains the most important theme for Flemish people.
Extend warranty period
Depraetere wants to “break market power”. With a cascade of rules for sectors in which companies grant themselves “gigantic profit margins”, Vooruit wants to return “3.4 billion euros back to Flemish families every year”, an average saving of 1,200 euros per household. The party targets banks, insurance companies, energy and telecom suppliers and the real estate and construction sectors, as well as the liberal professions (such as notaries and bailiffs). The socialists believe “that Belgian families and singles pay far too much, especially for services that everyone needs for a dignified existence.” The idea is that the government can perfectly boost purchasing power without having to dig into its own pockets.
Just like Rousseau with his cashier, Depraetere also draws on his own experience to illustrate this. When she was appointed chairman in November, she pointed out her origins: Depraetere comes from a working-class family. “If we needed a new refrigerator, we would have to wait for the end-of-year bonus,” she said in interviews at the time. Vooruit now wants, for example, to extend the legal warranty period for refrigerators, cars or washing machines by one year to a term of at least three years. According to Vooruit estimates, 159 million euros will flow from companies back to Flemish families in this way.
Another measure is to oblige airlines to automatically refund the cost of canceled flights, so that consumers no longer have to figure this out themselves. The same applies to delayed flights: here too, airlines must pay the compensation due without request. “After all, most consumers are not aware of their right to compensation,” party leaders say. “And those who are informed often experience problems obtaining reimbursement.” According to Vooruit, this would yield all Flemish families together 287 million euros.
Vooruit wants to raise the largest amount from the banks. Stricter rules on savings accounts alone would yield Flemish families no less than 878 million euros per year, according to Vooruit’s estimate. The party wants, among other things, to introduce a minimum savings interest rate and oblige banks to automatically provide the most affordable savings product as standard.
Legacies
For Vooruit, too, not all profits can be achieved from companies. To reduce inequality in society and distribute prosperity more fairly, socialists focus, among other things, on inheritances. The party wants a “radically different approach to inheritance and gift tax”. Simply put: Vooruit eliminates the difference between donations and inheritances. It no longer makes any difference from whom you inherit or receive something. And whether you receive movable (money, life insurance) or immovable property (land and buildings) no longer matters.
In Vooruit’s proposal, everyone can receive 250,000 euros tax-free in his or her lifetime: as a gift or as an inheritance, it doesn’t matter. “In this way, parents can give their children or loved ones a helping hand,” it says. Everything above 250,000 euros is taxed progressively. The government must “invest these proceeds as a priority in the opportunities of all children and young people.”
Rousseau will not be present at the conference on Saturday. It has not yet been decided whether he will be on the East Flemish list as a list pusher in June. After the conference, Depraetere takes the time to discuss with him “what the possibilities are”. The final lists will be submitted on April 13.
