In Antwerp the local section of the Flemish liberal Open VLD party is appealing to find 10 candidates for the district council elections on 13 October via social media. ‘It's the first time we've done it this way, but in these social media times it seems anything but unusual to me,’ says Willem-Frederik Schiltz, the Open VLD’s lead candidate in Antwerp. He denies it has anything to do with the liberal party's disastrous showing in the general election.
Antwerp liberals appeal for candidates for the district elections via social media
Colin Clapson
Published:
‘There are still a few places available. So if you are liberal at heart and want to help build the city of the future, give us a call,’ Willem-Frederik Schiltz says in a video on social media. The Antwerp lead candidate says the Flemish liberals are still looking for candidates for district councils in Antwerp, Deurne, Wilrijk, Borgerhout and Ekeren.
Does the Open VLD have so little appeal in Antwerp that it has to recruit candidates via social media? ‘In Antwerp we have a turbulent period behind us, that's true. But this is certainly not a desperate appeal,’ says Mr Schiltz. ‘I hear from rival parties that they are also still looking. That is normal. In Antwerp, you need more than 200 candidates because you also have to fill the lists for all the district elections too. That's a lot more than in other places.’
‘This time we decided to throw open the doors and communicate very transparently and say that we are still looking. That may be different from how it was done in the past, but in these social media times it is anything but strange, I think. Above all, we want to show that we still want more people to join. We got an enthusiastic reaction to our video and about seven people have responded so far.’