Once a minor parliamentary presence, it fractured amid scandals and leadership disputes by the late 2000s.
A new conservative party named after President Trump has burst onto Belgium’s political scene, reviving the networks of two defunct nationalist movements and pledging a “unitary” alternative to the country’s separatist right.
The party—officially titled TRUMP, short for Tous Réunis pour l’Union des Mouvements Populistes (“All United for the Union of Populist Movements”) — was unveiled last week by Salvatore Nicotra, a former chairman of the Belgian Front National.
In an interview with the Brussels-based outlet BRUZZ, Nicotra said the party’s name reflects his admiration for President Trump, whom he called “the symbol of populism,” adding that his movement combines “a right-wing populist program with a social dimension.”