Interviews and articles

At the start of February Belgium finally has a new federal government. It took 236 days of negotiations. They call it Arizona, in reference to the colours of the flag of the state of Arizona, which reflect the 5 parties of this coalition government: N-VA (Flemish right-wing nationalist party), CDenV (Flemish Christian Democrat party), Vooruit (Flemish Socialist party), MR (French-speaking liberal party) and Les Engagés (French-speaking Christian Democrat party). The Prime Minister is Bart De Wever, historic leader of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA.

Eastern Congo is the dramatic scene of a war that has claimed 6 million lives over the past 27 years. Today, itʼs the city of Goma - one of the largest cities in the Congo - that is threatened to fall into the hands of Rwanda via the armed militia M23 and the regular Rwandan army present on Congolese soil. Hereʼs a behind-the-scenes look at an invasion that threatens millions of people. [Below find an explainer video by our MEP Marc Botenga in French]

Peter Mertens, Havana, January 31, 2025, 6th International Conference for World Balance. Below is the full text of his speech.

The situation of industry in Europe is alarming, and its future is at stake. This dossier from lavamedia.be looks at the key issues for understanding the current crisis, and puts forward 9 principles for saving our industry.

In response to the demonstration for our industry that brought more than 10,000 people to Brussels in September, Pieter Timmermans, head of the FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium), presented his vision for relaunching Belgium's industry. For him, cutting wages and eliminating the recognition of overtime is the way forward... In other words, the proposals emanating from the future Arizona government coalition (named after the U.S. State that has in its flag the five colors of the coalition’s composing parties). Harmful measures that have already proved ineffective.

On 28 October 2024, an international delegation arrived in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for a week-long observation mission. Among them were lawyers, former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, Jaume Asens, a former Spanish MP who has since become an MEP, and Marc Botenga, his PVDA-PTB counterpart in the European Parliament. Solidaire met up with Botenga for a hard-hitting account of the few days he spent close to Israeli army fire.

Donald Trump has been re-elected as President of the United States and many people are wondering how we got here. And what should we do now? Peter Mertens, Secretary General of the PVDA-PTB, analyses the reasons for Trump's victory, the defeat of Kamala Harris and the Democrats, and gives a sign of hope in spite of everything.

Donald Trump has again been elected president of the United States. His victory is the victory of the US billionaire class who lavished hundreds of millions of dollars on his election campaign. It is also the defeat of a Democratic Party that no longer offers any prospects to young people and to the working class. Trump's election ushers in a new phase of authoritarianism in the US, and of hostility and tension around the world. But there is hope: a new generation of activists is ready to lead the resistance.

After the municipal elections on October 13, PVDA-PTB General Secretary, Peter Mertens, takes stock. The PVDA-PTB is gaining ground in all three regions of the country, with many new local representatives, many of them workers and young people. This gives us hope and prospects for the future.

Hello, ManiFiesta! Wow! Such a crowd! You should see yourselves from up here. Every year, this is a moment that gives me goose pumps. There's more than 15,000 of us at ManiFiesta! Thank you, ManiFiesta!

"The PVDA-PTB's recent election result is a strong sign of hope for all the future struggles of the working class and young people. The PVDA-PTB has doubled its number of elected representatives in Flanders, made strong gains in Brussels and is the most resilient left-wing party in Wallonia," said Peter Mertens. In this interview, conducted two weeks after the elections, the PVDA-PTB General Secretary takes a detailed look at the election results and the lessons that can be drawn from them.

The Belgian government and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo have declared themselves in favour of a permanent ceasefire. This is a good thing, and shows that grassroots pressure is working. But the government can do much more to stop the massacres in Gaza. It must do more than just talk. Concrete actions must follow. Wednesday, November 29, 2023