2024-03-18 16:41:44
While the Brussels list had finally been adopted on Friday by the activists, two elected officials from Woluwe-Saint-Lambert close to Olivier Maingain announced their withdrawal on Monday.
After hours of discussions, the general council of DéFI was finally able to agree last Friday on the Brussels list for the regional elections next June. Behind the leading trio formed by the Minister of Employment Bernard Clerfayt, the regional deputy Joëlle Maison and the Brussels alderman Fabian Maingain, the formula retained for the rest of the list is very different from the initial proposalat the origin of the dispute between the current and former party president, François De Smet and Olivier Maingain.
Indeed, outgoing regional deputies Jonathan de Patoul and Marc Loewenstein return to the top of the list, in fifth and seventh place, surrounding Gisèle Mandaila and ahead of Schaerbeek’s Emin Ozkara. On the other hand, the current group leader in the Brussels Parliament Emmanuel De Bock must still be content with twenty-fifth place, certainly far away for an outgoing elected official, but visible since he is at the head of the second column.
“I invite everyone to have only words of appeasement between us and to reserve our blows for our adversaries.”
With this list now approved by more than 80% of activists, François De Smet was able to officially launch the amaranth campaign this Sunday during a congress organized in Mons. In addition to presenting the slogan “Will and justice”, the president took the opportunity to call for unity within his party. “It is time to come together. I invite everyone to have only words of appeasement between us and to reserve our blows for our adversaries. We have kept them waiting for too long.”
Withdrawal of two candidates
In the absence of internal protests over the weekend, one might believe that the “Dallas” sequence was finally closed. But the appeasement was very short-lived. This Monday, two local elected officials from Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Olivier Maingain’s stronghold for three terms, announced their withdrawal from the regional list, believing that the new version, presented following the “disputed recount” votes by François Desmet’s chief of staff, is not fair. According to Michaël Loriaux and Charles Sixit is incomprehensible not to put more prominently local agents from the municipality where DéFI carries out its best results.
“It’s not dramatic, but it’s very unfortunate. I still wish they were on the list”reacts the head of the regional list Bernard Clerfayt which however does not share this vision based on the weight of the local sections. “We rather have a regional logic where it is a question of defending the same values and projects, whether in public cleanliness or in taxation, whatever the municipality from which we come. Mobility, housing, urban planning apply to the entire territory.”
Internal sabotage?
But beyond the question of these two elected officials who consider themselves “important personalities of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert”, the question is above all whether this announcement augurs a complicated campaign for amaranthswith systematic internal sabotage by Olivier Maingain and his followers.
On the consequences on the morale of DéFI activists, the two camps manage to agree: these internal dissensions might harm their enthusiasm and their involvement.
Questioned, the former president declares that reconciliation is always possible, but that a gesture from François De Smet would be the “bare minimum”. By this we must mean the dismissal of his chief of staff. “I don’t understand why he persists in defending this person. This shocks many activists. By defending a serious act, François De Smet weakens the party“, declares Olivier Maingain who nevertheless assures that he will remain loyal to DéFI, by providing his support to certain “trusted candidates”.
On the consequences on the morale of DéFI activists, the two camps manage to agree: these internal dissensions might harm their enthusiasm and their involvement.
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