The management of the federal police will experience major upheavals in the coming months. THE four senior positions, for which linguistic parity is imposed, are at stake. And in this perspective, a first pawn has already been placed. And this one created the surprise.
André Desenfants, who was director general of the administrative police (DGA), is no longer at his post. It seemed destined for a French speaker but, surprise, out of four candidates, a Dutch speaker presented himself… and finished first. And this is how Wald Thielemans, who was Desenfants’ operational right-hand man, put on his new costume as divisional commissioner at the DGA a few weeks ago. But, strangely, without being named. He is there ad interim.
Chovanec case: the number 2 of the police, André Desenfants, resumed his duties
Weirdness? Not that much. In fact, it might not be made official without jeopardizing the principle of linguistic parity. The general commissionerbig boss federal police, Marc De Mesmaeker, is Dutch-speaking. Below him, the divisional commissioner Dominique Van Rykeghem, at the head of the Directorate General of Human Resources and Information (DGR), is equally so. There remains Eric Snoeck from Liège, director general of the judicial police (DGJ). In short, currently, at the linguistic level, it is 3-1 in favor of the North. And it happens precisely because Thielemans is not named. Smart…
It isn’t for another reason, too. The big boss will change his mind. De Mesmaeker, not wishing to extend his mandate by five years, will no longer be general commissioner of the federal police, as of June 15.
Who will replace him ? A Francophone, we think first. History to return to equality north-south. But also because, from the lips of all the observers we surveyed, a profile emerges, in an obvious way. That of Eric Snoeck. His name is circulating everywhere.
The Walloon had already been a candidate at the same time as De Mesmaeker in 2018. He finished second in the selection procedure. “He is already the one who takes over when De Mesmaeker is absent”, we are reminded. “He is unanimous in the parties, in particular following his presentations which he had to make in committee. He always made a strong impression.”
“He is, in my opinion, the best candidate.”, confirms a Flemish observer. “Un perfectionist. Very strong in management.“It remains to be seen if he will be once more… interested in the summit of the Belgian federal police: “He still likes the judiciary”, slips us a commissioner.
Unfortunately, politics is increasingly present in appointments. And the oral part of the selection leaves latitude.
It also remains to be seen whether another surprise candidate will not apply. A Flemish candidate. And this, in a country where, for the two sovereign powers of the Interior and Justice, the Dutch speakers have succeeded in pumping out a very large majority of high offices, whether political or institutional. “Unfortunately, politics is increasingly present in appointments. And the oral part of the selection leaves latitude”, explains a trade unionist.
Finally, it remains to fix the timing for all this. One of two things. Either Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden and the government are in a hurry. Therefore, there must be one appointed to the four positions for January 1, 2024, the start of pre-electoral routine business. Knowing that no selection procedure has, at this stage, been launched and this will last for months. Either we prefer to wait for the 2024 elections to engrave all of this in stone. As was the case when Fernand Koekelberg left the post of general commissioner in 2011. Paul Van Thielen then replaced him ad interim until the elections, before definitively giving up the place of boss to Catherine De Bolle.
The option may seem politically comfortable, but it is also problematic: ad interim, a senior official cannot develop a long-term strategic plan. And, in Belgium, we know that forming a government can take time…
