2023-11-07 19:05:00
The “best mayor in the world”, Bart Somers (Open VLD), leaves the Flemish government to return to the mayorship of Mechelen
More leading role following election
According to Noël Slangen, former communications advisor to several political leaders, Bart Somers would not have obtained guarantees allowing him to play leading roles following the elections of June 9, 2024. The unexpected resignation is very bad news for the Minister-President Jan Jambon (N-VA) and for the Flemish government which will very soon have to definitively approve the nitrogen decree. It is Flemish MP Gwendolyn Rutten who will sit around the government table in place of Bart Somers to negotiate the thorny issue. However, the mayor of Mechelen, through his ability to forge compromises, has done a lot to try to bring together the points of view between ministers Zuhal Demir (Environment, N-VA) and Jo Brouns (Agriculture, CD&V). Nothing says that Gwendolyn Rutten has the same gift of conciliation.
Surprise at the Open VLD: Gwendolyn Rutten replaces Bart Somers in the Flemish government
Rushing ahead
“Bart Somers chose to headlong by resigning from his ministerial functions and becoming mayor of Mechelen once more,” explains Ivan De Vadder, political columnist at VRT and presenter of the program De Afspraak op vrijdag. Why did he end his role as deputy prime minister in the Jambon government? What is his strategy? According to the journalist, his decision surprised quite a few people. The timing raises eyebrows. By now favoring the local level and running for mayor once more in 2024, Bart Somers is falling back on his certainties.
“Bart Somers was at the helm of his party, he was Flemish minister-president and minister,” continues Ivan De Vadder. No level of power is foreign to him. Today, while his party continues to decline in the polls, he chooses to prioritize his own interests, his career. The local level, Mechelen, will undoubtedly allow him to get closer to his voters and consolidate his position as mayor.” And to make a prediction: “And I don’t think he will run for ministerial office once more”.
The younger generation protests
“It is certain that the Open VLD has chosen to focus on the younger generation to try to turn the tide since the party continues to lose ground in the polls,” adds Ivan De Vadder. The Flemish liberals are going through one of the worst crises of their existence today. “The clans reign supreme at the Open VLD. The younger generation is currently angry: they refuse the paralyzing power exercised by these clans. These clans are capable of delivering a blow to a weakened party, now moribund. At the top of the party (the so-called G4 composed of Alexander De Croo, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Bart Somers and Tom Ongena), we understood that, to survive, the party must make a clean sweep of the past. It is not excluded that Somers will continue, behind the scenes, to play an influential role within his party but it is a safe bet that he will no longer be a minister following the 2024 elections,” assures the journalist from the public channel.
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