Assita Kanko (N-VA) accused of psychological harassment: “There was a culture of fear” | Interior

In November 2022, a former employee of Kanko would have filed a complaint against the MEP, according to internal documents that Politico has been able to view. The news site also spoke anonymously with a total of six people who testified about a toxic working atmosphere at Kanko’s office, including three former employees.

The latter confirmed that a “culture of fear” prevailed in Kanko’s office, in which the N-VA star gave them impossible-to-fulfill assignments and changed their mind very often. Two employees testified that Kanko also played psychological games with them. “She makes you believe that you are the one who did or said something wrong, even if you have evidence to the contrary.”

Her assistants often had to show up on prearranged holidays, weekends and even in the middle of the night. Long and irregular hours are part of the job in European politics, but Kanko’s demands would have been “unreasonable”. “It always had to be done right away, so you left friends and family to answer her question,” says a former employee. “The next day she had another idea and everything had to be done all over again. It went on like that all the time, it drove us all crazy.”

Kanko also allegedly assigned her employees personal tasks, such as shopping and even babysitting. Since she was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, according to Politico, thirteen employees have passed through Kanko’s office, while an MEP is normally entitled to three assistants.

Kanko confirms that an investigation is ongoing, but does not want to go into details. “A former MP has filed a complaint against his resignation. That complaint has been investigated and refuted, but he has also initiated a ‘proceeding on harassment’. To my regret and frustration, that investigation is taking a very long time.” Kanko maintains her innocence and says she’s standing firm. “Out of respect for the investigation,” she declined to comment.

Kanko switched from MR to N-VA in 2018 and was elected for the Flemish nationalist party in the European elections in 2019. She is one of the Vice Presidents of ECR, the European Party of Conservatives and Reformists.