2024-02-14 09:35:00
On January 12, the MR posted an infographic on its site showing all its top lists. After weeks of scrapping, the matter seemed settled: Charles Michel for Europe, Sophie Wilmès in Brussels for the Chamber and Georges-Louis Bouchez head of the list in Hainaut for the federal government. The balance of power seemed achieved until the president of the European Council dropped out of the race on January 26.
In January, the heads of the MR list were all found. ©MR
The question that therefore arose was the following: should we reorganize the lists to replace Charles Michel or pull a new white rabbit out of the president’s magic hat?
The latter responds in a nebulous manner. “Nothing is decided. We have no difficulty. I have just set February 22 and I will not let myself set the calendar by the impatience of the press. Furthermore, many choices are possible but you have to choose the right one.”
Within the French-speaking blues, there seem to be two camps. Those who defend the Sophie Wilmès option for Europe and those who prefer it to Brussels. “It’s undeniable. No one enjoys the same popularity as Sophie,” analyzes a liberal figurehead. “Wherever she is, her contribution will be masterful.”
The Sophie Wilmès mystery: why the liberal remains the favorite political figure of French speakers
If the Rhodesian goes to Europe, the entire Brussels strategy for the federal government might collapse. The idea would then be to take Hadja Lahbib, who occupies second place in the Region and appears in the top 6 of Brussels residents’ favorite personalities in the latest polls. But would this list be strong enough to hope to obtain four Brussels federal seats, with the VLD in the team?
This fourth place is a priori assigned to Alexia Bertrand who would be the link between the two liberal families. Like the other parties which plan to have a common list in Brussels (Ecolo-Groen, PTB-Pvda, Les Engagés-CD&V, etc.), the blues consider that it is essential to have a strong group in the capital . On the VLD side, it is Prime Minister Alexander De Croo himself who is leading the negotiations.
Conversely, if the Wilmès card is used in Europe, the MR might benefit from a Wouah effect, as La Libre wrote, since its popularity would be leveraged across the French-speaking constituency. To put it more prosaically, the party might do with a lot more votes.
Which brings us to the internal elections which will take place following the June elections. If Sophie Wilmès is a hit with the Europeans, but the MR does not enter any executive, the former Prime Minister will be launched to possibly run for president of the party. A duel that Georges-Louis Bouchez does not want. The president would be afraid that the former Prime Minister would overshadow him, slip a handful of sources.
The solution that might suit a lot of people internally would be to draft less popular figures for Europe, such as the former Minister of Education Valérie Glatigny, the former party president and MEP Olivier Chastel or the Former Minister of Agriculture Sabine Laruelle. The latter is also seen as a key asset for defending liberal positions in debates on the agricultural question which will drive Europe in the future.
Another solution would be to enlist “white rabbits”, figures external to the party capable of harvesting votes by the thousands. It is in this logic that the rapprochement between the president and personalities sometimes on the extreme left, with the ex-PTB Youssef Handichi, sometimes on the side of the Turkish conservatives with Emir Kir, is analyzed.
Once announced at the MR, the ex-PTB Youssef Handichi is also cited at the Open-VLD
In doing so, Georges-Louis Bouchez blurs the lines, externally, but especially internally. A few months ago, the MR presented a very clear programmatic line on both socio-economic, geopolitical and even philosophical levels. Conversely, the negotiations of the last few days have thrown the positions into disarray. We recall that the MR defended a very frank stance on the conflict in the Middle East which does not correspond to that followed by the voters of Handichi or Kir. On an ideological level, how should these outstretched hands be read?
Among the opposing parties, we are rubbing our hands, since these rapprochement strategies which would aim to weaken the PS and Ecolo are interpreted as transgressions to the conceptual roots of the parties concerned. Emir Kir represents something that liberals have always denounced, and vice versa. Same thing for Youssef Handichi. The consequence ? The MR and independent figures might lose voters.
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