2023-09-10 16:57:00
With the compliments of the Prime Minister. Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) was the guest of RTL-TVI on Sunday lunchtime. Asked whether the presidents of the PS and MR, Paul Magnette and Georges-Louis Bouchez, might one day become Prime Minister, he first replied: “It is not me who will decide, it is the elections who will decide.” Then, following a brief silence, he added: “But both of them should explain a little bit what the future is for the country. People who are only negative regarding a country, they are not going to improve the fate of that country.”
We perceive in this response all of Alexander Croo’s annoyance with regard to the numerous criticisms expressed by MM. Magnette and Bouchez on the functioning and action of the federal government since its establishment three years ago. But let the Flemish liberal not be deluded. As was said during the MR and Défi back-to-school congresses, during the weekend, the electoral campaign was launched, nine months before the mega-vote (European, federal and regional elections) in June 2024.
Left-wing policies
The MR organized its summer universities at the Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure. During the closing event on Saturday, Georges-Louis Bouchez unveiled the pre-campaign slogan: “Working for the future”. Employment in Wallonia occupied a special place in his speech. “Yes, I accept it, we can be stricter in social policy, in unemployment rules, because this social policy becomes destructive of well-being and condemns individuals to remain on welfare,” he said. he launched, attacking left-wing policies.
Another major focus of the Liberal campaign: security. “There’s nothing wrong with being safe. You have to be fair. The rule of law must be respected, but laxity must be put an end to. Fear must change sides,” said Mr. Bouchez, demanding more resources for the police and justice.
Défi’s response
Vivaldi (the federal majority of which the MR is a part) is the paroxysm of the “regal weakness” of the State, François De Smet, the president of Défi, indirectly responded to him during his party’s congress on Sunday in Louvain. -la-Neuve. According to him, the deterioration of the state force, particularly in terms of police and justice, began ten years ago and was mainly caused by the “dangerous” action of the Swedish (majority of which the MR was also a part) under the previous legislature. “It is time to reaffirm the authority of the State, and to strengthen it.”
Mr. De Smet also highlighted the need, according to him, to consolidate the finances of the Walloon and Brussels Regions and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, whose cumulative debts will reach 50 billion euros in 2025. “Continue to promise a a certain number of new freebies, particularly in public transport, is no longer tenable.”
The PTB obviously does not have the same concerns. During his annual “ManiFiesta” festival on Saturday in Ostend, President Raoul Hedebouw defended 0% VAT on food, while “the profits of agribusiness multinationals are exploding”.
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