2023-11-07 16:00:00
This evening at 8 p.m., the Open VLD is organizing a press conference to present Bart Somers’ successor within the Jambon government. But we already know her name, it’s Gwendolyn Rutten. It is therefore the current Flemish MP who won. Rumor placed her, during the day, in competition with the current President of the Senate, Stephanie D’Hose.
Gwendolyn Rutten, former president of the Flemish Liberals, experienced relative disgrace within her political party in recent years. She thus makes a surprising comeback.
As a reminder, she had announced that she was stopping politics at the national and regional level in order to concentrate on her mayoral functions in Aarschot (Flemish Brabant). This decision immediately followed the announcement of the appointment of Paul Van Tigchelt as new Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister Open VLD in place of Vincent Van Quickenborne, who was killed following the recent terrorist attack in Brussels.
Experience rather than “young talent”
Gwendolyn Rutten hoped to take over the “Van Quick” portfolio. Visibly disappointed, the former president of the Flemish Liberals denounced the “disrespectful treatment” of the party leadership towards her.
How can we explain this twist in his personal trajectory? The president of the Flemish Liberals, Tom Ongena, had to act quickly and find a solid name to replace Bart Somers as vice-president of the regional government and minister of internal affairs. This is because the upcoming discussions within the Flemish executive on certain issues – and particularly on the nitrogen issue – promise to be tough.
In his message announcing his departure, Bart Somers wanted the Open VLD to give a chance to a young talent. It was therefore decided otherwise. Tom Ongena wanted to rely on an experienced woman to assume the role of leader of the blues within the executive led by the N-VA Jan Jambon.
Gwendolyn Rutten’s beginnings in politics date from the rainbow government of Guy Verhofstadt, installed in 1999. She then worked at the party headquarters, under the presidency of Karel De Gucht. Obviously, by putting a “big job” on the table, the president of the Open VLD managed to convince Gwendolyn Rutten to give up her high-level political retirement. She comes back into the game, to the forefront.
Tom Ongena’s pledge
This choice also responds to an internal logic of Open VLD. To the catastrophic polls which had contributed to causing the departure of the former president, Egbert Lachaert, a bronca was added. In addition to Gwendolyn Rutten’s frustration, Patrick Dewael had threatened to sit as an independent in the House due to the handling of Van Quickenborne’s resignation.
By bringing Gwendolyn Rutten back to the highest level, Tom Ongena also gives an important and visible guarantee to the protesters within the Open VLD. And he reassures his troops by sending them this message: he is working on a renewal of liberal executives with a view to the 2024 elections, yes, but that does not imply removing all the important figures from his party…
Consolidating peace within the Open VLD
The appointment of Gwendolyn Rutten might help consolidate the fragile peace within the Open VLD. In recent years, the already old animosity between him and Alexander De Croo had tended to increase.
In 2020, she announced that she would not run for a new presidential term following spending seven years at the head of the Open VLD. Rutten, who had a progressive political line, then had to face powerful internal criticism. Some wanted the Open VLD to return to a more right-wing doctrine on the economic level.
After the 2019 elections, Gwendolyn Rutten had, moreover, irritated some of her troops by showing herself tempted by a federal majority agreement associating the liberals with the socialists and the ecologists. Several liberals criticized him for submitting to the plans of Paul Magnette, president of the PS, who then took on an informant mission.
This painful sequence, which led to his replacement at the head of the Open VLD by Egbert Lachaert, had left its mark. The progressive wing of the Open VLD harbored resentment towards the more “right-wing” fringe of the Flemish liberals. The surprise return of Gwendolyn Rutten should ease tensions between the two doctrinal tendencies which divide the Flemish liberals.
At its lowest in the polls, the Open VLD fears for its future: “Were we right to accept the post of Prime Minister?”
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