Every week Knack asks questions of famous people in the Dare to Hesitate section. This week: Manu Claeys.

“I used to be an advocate of political reallocation for about two blocks,” says Manu Claeys. ‘Twenty years ago I wrote a long essay Standard: Vlaams block inside each of us. I’m also looking for new political niches: migration issues, ecological crises… I’m already seeing two sides looming on the horizon. On the one hand a right conservative block, and on the other a left progressive block ecological block. The political center is destroyed.’

Today the political center is but a shadow of the past. But you no longer believe in political replacement.

Manuel Claeys: The situation in America and England has opened my eyes. Since Ronald Reagan, cooperation between Democrats and Republicans has become increasingly difficult. The other side is no longer seen as a political opponent, but as an enemy. Someone in power there said: we have the majority, we decide everything now, why do we still have to negotiate with the others? Social media also plays an important role in this. You have pure and impure, all the nuances disappear. The main problem with such a two-party system is that you are increasingly unable to find a solution that satisfies the majority of society. Compare that to a family where the father will first rule for four years and then the mother. It won’t work either: mom and dad both have their own desires, plans and desires. Compromises are made in good families, otherwise half will be left frustrated.

Another problem with such a two-party system, contrary to what I used to think, is that the radicals carry an overall disproportionate weight. The Tea Party is dominant in America right now, so things are deadlocked.

However, political reparcelling is a very popular term today.

clay: Ordinary people are not worried about this, but politicians and political scientists are. Oddly enough, these people often cite the Netherlands, Germany or Scandinavia as political guiding countries. Even though these are precisely the countries where there is no political reparcelling taking place. They are a multi-party state, where compromises are made and middle ground still exists. That centerpiece doesn’t have to be completely colorless: here in Antwerp, the action group around the Oosterweel concluded the Future Covenant six years ago with a right-wing conservative council.

Do you doubt a lot?

clay: All the time. There’s nothing I love more than seeing a problem from a different perspective and then coming to the right decision. I work a lot with the participation of citizens: then you have to leave your comfort zone, and also your own rights.