BDW is the new Antwerp Mayor

With nearly half of all results counted Bart De Wever's party has a nine percentage point lead. N-VA polls 37% compared to only 28% for Mr Janssens's City List.

Given the results of the other parties the only workable coalition in Antwerp seems to be one in which the N-VA would join forces with the City List.

Bart De Wever, the N-VA's mayoral candidate in Antwerp, has spoken of today's events as a turning point in history. The Flemish nationalist party leader said that the N-VA's result formed the greatest election victory since the Second World War. Based on the provincial council results the N-VA is also the largest party across Flanders.

"It's a Black and Yellow Sunday" Mr De Wever told his supporters. He added that he had already phoned and thanked his opponent Patrick Janssens for what he had done in Antwerp as mayor over the past six years. Mr De Wever now intends to contact other parties with a view to forming a new majority on Antwerp city council.

Buoyed up by his election victory Mr De Wever announced that his party was the new people's party and that it should voice the feelings of the people of Flanders: "The Flemings have given our councillors an enormous amount of confidence."

"We will continue and give the Flemings the governance that they wish on all levels."

Mr De Wever also made an appeal to Federal PM Elio Di Rupo (Francophone socialist) and other Francophone politicians: "Together with us prepare confederal reforms so that we can give the Flemings and the Francophones the governance that they deserve. This will form the basis for real solidarity and a way out of the economic and political crisis."

His opponent, the socialist PatrickJanssens, told VRT’s Linda Dewin that he had not expected that Bart De Wever’s Flemish nationalists would do so well. His socialists had polled around 30%. This would be a good result elsewhere, but in Antwerp is 10% under that of the N-VA.

Any initiative to form a new majority would now have to come from Mr De Wever.

Mr Janssens explained his defeat by saying that "somebody else was better". Still he defended his efforts together with coalition partners over the past six years. He also believed his socialist party had fought a good campaign, but wanted to take his time to consider the result before making any big pronouncements on his future.

Last time round Mr Janssens had a battle against Vlaams Belang surpemo Filip Dewinter on his hands. This time the nationalists seem to have done what Vlaams Belang failed to do and have overtaken the outgoing mayor's list.

Vlaams Belang and the ecologists of Groen battledfor third place. Six years ago Vlaams Belang were in second place. Today they polled 10% following significant losses.Groen took 8%.

Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom stood in Antwerp on the liberal list, but she doesn't seem to have made much of an impact with the liberal share of the vote less than 6%.

The far left and Maoist PVDA+ list has surged ahead polling 8% and have eclipsed the liberals.