2023-06-28 14:06:00
“To make the pursuit of Liberal Party reform a success, everyone must dare to question themselves,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Lachaert was elected to this position in May 2020. Since then, his party has entered the Vivaldi coalition at the federal level and it is a Flemish liberal, Alexander De Croo, who holds the position of Prime Minister. The Open Vld is also in power in Flanders and in the Brussels Region. The latest polls are however particularly pessimistic for the party, some even placing it below 10% of voting intentions. A situation that has already earned the President some difficult Bureau meetings.
The announcement comes as a surprise one year before the elections. According to Mr. Lachaert, the Liberals have taken over the past years “a great responsibility in a complicated situation” and, today, “the time has come to carry out reforms which will make our country stronger in the future”.
This observation also applies to the Open Vld, judges the president who pleads for “a renewal and a clear turning point” and highlights the leadership of the Prime Minister.
“The Open Vld must aim for renewal in view of the coming year, taking into account the fact that our party leads the country and delivers the Prime Minister. Last year, our enlarged Political Bureau decided in consensus to show leadership in these difficult times, with the Prime Minister leading the federal team as the leading figure. Confidence (in this choice) has been renewed in the Party Office in recent weeks. It is therefore important to to support this position during the coming year and to build around it the organization of the party”, he explained.
“In light of these choices, I am convinced that it is more appropriate for me to take on a role other than that of president,” he added.
The resigning president will continue to invest in the Chamber, where he sits as a deputy. He wants to believe in a recovery of his party. “There is clearly a place for the liberal current in Flanders. Nobody should doubt it”, he said.
The party leadership will decide in the coming days and weeks whether and when internal elections are held.
Mr. Lachaert was elected president of the Open Vld alongside Senate President Stephanie D’Hose and MP Jasper Pillen who became vice-presidents. His most serious competitor was the former Flemish minister Bart Tommelein, who retired from national politics to devote himself to his city of Ostend.
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