2023-09-26 15:25:00
The catch of the week at Les Engagés this time concerns the Charleroi-Thuin constituency for the Walloon Parliament. Jean-Jacques Cloquet, since it is him in question, joined the party chaired by Maxime Prévot while he was being courted by the MR.
“Jean-Jacques is a social liberal, he is a man of projects. When he managed Charlero airport, he always respected both the union camp and the employers’ camp,” explains Maxime Prévot who gave himself until October 7 – the date of a movement convention – to present all the heads of lists for the federal, regional and European elections. “Afterwards, they will have until December 31 to constitute their lists. I didn’t want to find myself like in 2019 when I came to the presidency and I only had a few weeks to do this exercise. We’ll be up and running a lot sooner this time.”
Jean-Jacques Cloquet is therefore the new recruit that the Engagés sought from civil society. The man who lives in Walloon Brabant has lived 50 years in the Charleroi region, where he will be a candidate. This father of five has had a particularly eclectic career. Born in 1960 in La Louvière, he signed his first semi-pro football contract at Sporting de Charleroi in 1978, where he remained until 1985 before going to play at La Louvière. He will also be the youngest Belgian player to play in a cup final. At the same time, he trained as a civil energy engineer in Mons. When he was injured, his sporting career came to a screeching halt. He then found employment at Solvay where he spent twenty years.
In addition to serving as general director of Sporting de Charleroi, he will also work in the social housing sector. In 2007, he arrived at Charleroi airport where his work as general director was praised by many people. Then came a collaboration – short – at Pairi Daiza, followed by an expert role in the office of the Walloon minister, Jean-Luc Crucke (MR, at the time), where he was interested in questions relating to aviation green.
“No one’s enemy”
Since then Jean-Luc Crucke, to whom he is close, has gone with weapons and luggage to the Engagés. Should we see a link there? Obviously yes. Jean-Jacques Cloquet recognizes this himself. “The meetings with Jean-Luc and then with Maxime Prévot were decisive. What appealed to me regarding Les Engagés was that they gave me the role of unifier. I have knowledge in all parties, I am no one’s enemy and what interests me are the projects.” For him, the old CDH has become “a new movement”. “They took a break in 2019 by deciding to go into opposition. They took the time to think by consulting with many people, I was one of them at the time.”
Jean-Jacques Cloquet has however said in the past that he does not want to get into politics. So he changed his mind. “It comes at the right time, my mandate at the head of a Carolo business circle is ending and now I want to go.” He has already had suggestions. In 2019, in particular, the president of the MR offered him the position of Secretary of State for Digitalization which ultimately went to Mathieu Michel. “I said no because it wasn’t the time and, above all, it wasn’t my thing. I didn’t know anything regarding it, I prefer to be honest. At the time, some people told me that I should have done it for the money, but that’s honestly not what interests me.”
Energy, Jobs, etc.
If he is elected on June 9, Jean-Jacques Cloquet will therefore land in the Walloon Parliament and in the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation – unless of course its president has a ministerial destiny for him if Les Engagés were to return to power. “The subjects that interest me are Energy, it’s an important sector. But also Training, Employment and the Economy”. And when asked if he will be able to adapt to parliamentary work which can often prove thankless, he has no doubt he will succeed. “It’s true that things can move faster in the business world. But what interests me is to be available to my movement, to take the time to prepare the files and above all, to find solutions.”
Finally, let us point out that Julien Matagne, outgoing deputy who occupied the head of the list during the previous election, will occupy the 1st substitute on the federal list with a keen eye towards the mayorate of his commune of Gerpinnes which he hopes to conquer in October 2024.
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