The municipal council is an important place for local democracy where local elected officials come together to debate and participate in the management of the municipality. This is where citizens can also question their elected officials. However, in Mons, the municipal council can last a very long time, sometimes up to 11 hours of debate. Both the majority and opposition blame each other for the never-ending meetings, which have been going on since 2016 when the Mons en Mieux group became part of the opposition. The debates can be tough and sometimes violent, and many wonder whether such lengthy councils pose a threat to local democracy.
At the last municipal council on Tuesday March 21, there were about seventy points on the agenda, and exchanges centered mainly between the Mons en Mieux group and the PS/Ecolo majority. The mayor often had to call the councilors to order, whether they belonged to the majority or opposition. Nicolas Martin, the mayor of Mons, believes that this situation of extended advice is due to the Mons en Mieux group. He thinks that debates could be much more effective if there was only one speaker or even two for each item on the agenda, following the tradition of each group expressing themselves once on one point.
It is a high place of local democracy: the municipal council. This is where local elected officials debate and participate in the management of the municipality and where citizens can question their elected officials. In Mons, this municipal council has a particularity: it lasts a long, very long time. Sometimes up to 11 hours of debate. Majority and opposition blame each other for this endless advice.
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A situation that has lasted since 2016 and the passage of the Mons en Mieux group in the opposition (MR at the time). Since then, this group has offered fierce opposition to the PS-Ecolo majority. The debates are tough, sometimes violent. True democratic work for some, political tactics that aim to exhaust for others. But aren’t such lengthy councils a danger to local democracy? We attended the last municipal council on Tuesday March 21 to see more clearly.
Too much speaking
It is 4:15 p.m. when the mayor of Mons, Nicolas Martin, opens the meeting by welcoming his colleagues. About seventy points are on the agenda. Almost all the advisers have brought something to eat, some are ordering meals, the evening promises to be long and it will be.
For many hours, the exchanges will focus mainly between the Mons en Mieux group and the PS/Ecolo majority. Verbal battles sometimes lively but often constructive. The mayor must regularly call the councilors to order, whether they are from the majority or the opposition. For Nicolas Martin, this situation of extended advice is to be attributed to the Mons en Mieux group of Georges-Louis Bouchez.
I think that we could have much more effective debates if there was only one speaker.
“We have already timed the speaking time by political group on several occasions. We have seen that there was a group which represents less than a quarter of the elected members of the council and this group monopolizes more than three quarters of the speaking time. We note that it is impossible for certain groups to have a single expression on each of the files on the agenda. The tradition, whether in parliament or in municipal councils elsewhere in Wallonia, is that each group expresses itself (once) on one point. Here, the main opposition group (Mons en Mieux) likes to multiply the interventions, which unnecessarily lengthens the debates. I think we could have much more effective debates if there was only one speaker, or even two for each item on the agenda”, deplores Nicolas Martin.
In conclusion, the municipal council in Mons is a place where local democracy thrives, but it has gained a reputation for lasting a long time, sometimes up to 11 hours. This is due in large part to intense debate between the majority and opposition groups, with the Mons en Mieux group often monopolizing the speaking time. While some see this as true democratic work, others view it as political tactics that aim to exhaust. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it’s clear that such lengthy councils are a danger to local democracy. As Nicolas Martin suggests, having one or two speakers for each agenda item could lead to more effective debates and ultimately benefit the citizens of Mons.