Media Personalities and Political Parties: The Impact and Influence in Elections

2023-08-30 06:43:00

Joined by our colleagues from La Libre, Maxime Prévot and Hakima Darhmouch did not wish to comment on the information. The former journalist, also passed by the RTBF, has already been coveted several times by political parties. If she was press attaché to Louis Michel (MR), when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, she has however always refused to appear on an electoral list. She has obviously not deviated from this line and intends to pursue her projects with akkanto, the communication consulting firm for which she works.

Hakima Darhmouch is the partner of Akkanto. ©akkanto

Pickaxes in the small skylight

At each election, the parties try to attract media personalities to their lists, who are likely to appeal widely to voters. Pickaxes in the television seraglio are not uncommon. The latest is Michel De Maegd (who also presented the RTL news), who became MR federal deputy in 2019. Before him, there was notably Anne Delvaux (RTBF) at the CDH, Olivier Maroy (RTBF) and Florence Reuter (RTL) at MR, or Josy Dubié and Jean-Claude Defossé (both RTBF) at Écolo.

Among the other names that run through Maxime Prévot’s head to occupy this position, there would be that of the former examining magistrate Anne Gruwez.

In the case of Les Engagés, two other mechanisms come into play. First, Les Engagés, born of the refoundation of the CDH, presents itself as a participatory and civic political movement. It is logical to translate this ambition on the electoral lists by bringing out people from civil society. Yvan Verougstraete, founder of the Medi-Market parapharmacy chain, thus became vice-president of the Engagés and will be one of the gondola heads of his party in the elections.

Anne Gruwez considered? She reacts: “We are in gerontocracy, or what?”

The second mechanism relates to electoral strategy. In Brussels, each party must designate two heads of list: one at the Region, the other at the federal level. At Les Engagés, regional deputy Christophe De Beukelaer should be at the top of the list for the Brussels Parliament. For the House of Representatives, Maxime Prévot would like to find a woman from civil society. It is in this context that the name of Hakima Darhmouch emerged. She also comes from immigration, which weighs heavily in the Brussels political arena.

Among the other names that run through Maxime Prévot’s head to occupy this position, there would be that of the former examining magistrate Anne Gruwez. The latter nevertheless informs La Libre that it has not (or not yet) been contacted by Mr. Prévot. And even if she was, she would refuse the proposal. “It is inconceivable that I present myself, and this, for two reasons. One: I remain a deputy magistrate and, as such, my ethics do not allow me to engage in politics. And two: are we in a gerontocracy or what…? They don’t have anything better to do than scrape the bottoms of saucepans?” says Ms. Gruwez, 67, in her hilarious style.

The former examining magistrate Anne Gruwez had been the subject of a documentary, “Neither judge nor submitted”. ©Ennio Camiere

In short, the track will lead nowhere. If Maxime Prévot manages to find his rare pearl, Yvan Verougstraete should take the lead in Europe. Otherwise, it is probably he who will draw the federal list in Brussels.

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