Political Strife in Flemish Parliament over VRT Leadership and Accountability

The Flemish Parliament is currently in turmoil after a lack of quorum and no vote being taken on the request for a hearing with VRT leadership. This is due to opposition party Vlaams Belang being absent for an extra session of the Media Committee, along with majority party N-VA.

On Thursday, there was controversy surrounding a new TV series being produced by VRT called ‘Knappe heads’. Critics within VRT claim that the program was pushed through in a brutal manner with political interference. However, Flemish Media Minister Benjamin Dalle denied any political interference in VRT programs.

This incident is just one of many in recent weeks and months, including the cancellation of a documentary series about Bart De Pauw. Opposition parties Groen and Vooruit have been pushing for the VRT leadership, especially CEO Frederik Delaplace, to provide explanations in the Flemish Parliament. However, N-VA has been blocking these attempts.

The ruling party has been accused of blocking accountability from the majority by not allowing parliament to summon VRT top leaders for hearings. This has sparked debate about the role of parliament in overseeing public media organizations like VRT.