by Corneel Vanfleteren
Published on Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 3:07 PM •
2 min read
In the local elections, outgoing Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (cd&v) will not lead the open list in Schoten. She will push him.
In the news: Annelies Verlinden could soon become a minister again and therefore does not aspire to be a party leader.
- “I want to be honest with the voters. I’m pushing the list and will definitely throw myself into the campaign. But I’m also convinced that Erik Block is a more suitable leader. Also because, unlike me, he will be able to focus completely on Schoten,” Verlinden tells Antwerp Gazette.
- So it is Erik Block who will lead the list in Schoten. It is a so-called open list, which also includes liberal candidates, independents and even Elma Dalhuijsen, better known as Tante Kaat. The list is called cd&v Plus, with the Plus given a striking blue colour. There are also quite a few ex-Open Vld members on the list.
- At the moment, Schoten is governed by N-VA and Open Vld. Block wants to get rid of N-VA in particular: “The subsidies for youth, culture, seniors and sports associations were not adjusted once for six years, not even indexed. N-VA would rather take everything into its own hands”.
- Annelies Verlinden also criticizes the current city council: “I am very happy with our diverse list and the positive slogan ‘with each other – for each other’. Schoten deserves much better than the cold and harsh policy that has been implemented here in recent years.”