This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6032331.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Poll gain for Belgium's far right Poll gain for Belgium's far right
(about 13 hours later)
Local elections in Belgium have indicated a strong show of support for the separatist anti-immigration party in the Dutch-speaking north. A far-right party in Belgium's northern Flanders region has made sweeping gains in local elections, while the country's governing party suffered badly.
Vlaams Belang, or Flemish Interest, has increased its share of the vote in nearly every municipality. The anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party won about 20% of the vote in Dutch-speaking Flanders.
For years, the racist rhetoric of some of its members and its anti-immigration stance has seen it excluded from power. However it was knocked from first to second place in its traditional heartland - the city of Antwerp.
Despite being the largest single party in many towns, left and right parties have combined to keep it out of office. In the past other parties have formed coalitions to keep Vlaams Belang out of power, even where it has come first.
They are expected to try to do the same again.
Protest voteProtest vote
Vlaams Belang campaigns on a platform of independence for Flanders, the richer Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, and an anti-immigration integrationist stance towards minorities.Vlaams Belang campaigns on a platform of independence for Flanders, the richer Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, and an anti-immigration integrationist stance towards minorities.
But it is perhaps primarily a place for the protest vote, for people to register their dissatisfaction with the long-standing political status quo. But it is perhaps primarily a place for the protest vote, for people to register their dissatisfaction with the long-standing political status quo, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Brussels.
There is clearly a lot of unhappiness with that status quo in Belgium. Guy Verhofstadt acknowledged the scale of his party's defeat
In town after town Vlaams Belang is registering gains, and the lead party of the national coalition - the Liberal Democrats - is seeing its share of the vote slip away. The status quo seems to be unpopular at the moment, he adds, with the far right making what it calls "spectacular" gains.
Now all eyes are on Antwerp, Belgium's second city, to see just how well the party does there. The lead party of the national coalition - the Liberal Democrats - has seen its share of the vote slip away.
Six years ago, the party gained a third of the vote in Antwerp. Opinion polls suggest it may do better this time. "This is a landslide victory," said Vlaams Belang party chairman Frank Vanhecke.
Already Vlaams Belang is claiming what it calls a spectacular victory in Flanders. However, there was some consolation for the mainstream parties in Antwerp, the home of Vlaams Belang, where it suffered its only significant setback.
But translating that victory into political power may be as difficult as ever. Even though it increased its share of the city's vote to 33.5%, it was overtaken by the Socialists, inspired by their popular mayor Patrick Janssens, who made dramatic gains to 35.3%.
"It shows that it is possible to stop Vlaams Belang with a positive project," Mr Janssens said.
Socialists suffer
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt acknowledged the scale of his party's defeat, with less than a year to go before parliamentary elections.
"The average trend of the Flemish Liberal Democrats is not so good," he said.
"We must acknowledge that the government has had a few bad months and we know that whoever leads faces the most fire."
Meanwhile, in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, Mr Verhofstadt's coalition partners, the Socialists, lost ground badly.
The party, embroiled in a corruption scandal, was forced to give up seats in the cities of Charleroi, Namur, and Liege.
The Christian Democrats were the biggest winners there.