2023-12-28 06:32:00
Barring a misstep, this presidency will allow Alexander De Croo to rise in power as a statesman of international stature. For example, he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the beginning of January 2024 as part of a mission which will take around fifty Belgian entrepreneurs with him. For the communications specialists of Open VLD, the story is already written: the Prime Minister, as a Flemish liberal, assumes his responsibilities and defends the interests of his country while the opposition, in a sterile manner, criticizes for the sake of criticizing …
Alexander De Croo faced with a dilemma at the start of the school year
Flemish nationalists in the viewfinder
Flemish nationalists are particularly targeted by this strategy. Their president, Bart De Wever, launched the N-VA’s electoral campaign by making the economic well-being of Flanders the top priority. Until June 9, it will be a question of demonstrating that the Open VLD, by agreeing to join the Vivaldi majority, sacrificed the prosperity of the north of the country in order to offer the “16” to one of its own.
As in judo, the Flemish liberals want to turn the power of this attack against its author. “We will not defend Flemish prosperity by remaining locked in our bell towers,” says a source close to Alexander De Croo. The issue of the climate challenge, for example, also offers opportunities to our citizens and our businesses. But, for that, we had to participate in Cop28…”
As a reminder, the Flemish Minister of the Environment, N-VA Zuhal Demir, refused to go to Dubai for the world climate conference. Faced with this dismissive attitude, Open VLD wants to offer a more “constructive” counter-discourse in line with the needs of the Belgian private sector.
The men and women of the Belgian presidency: Pierre Cartuyvels, deputy permanent representative of Belgium to the European Union
But there is a long way to go. Will this managerial responsibility that Alexander De Croo wants to drape himself in be able to trickle down to his training? If the Prime Minister remains very popular in Flanders, the Flemish liberals are locked on board a political Titanic. The polls are disastrous. If we voted tomorrow, the Open VLD would finish in last place in the electoral competition in Flanders.
The reason for this disenchantment comes in particular from the political compromises that the Flemish Blues had to accept to stay in power for many years. In the current federal coalition, Vivaldi, the Open VLD governs with the socialist and ecological left and cannot express its right-wing DNA on the socio-economic level. Faced with this political lukewarmness, the uncompromising discourse of the N-VA can seduce voters traditionally favored by the liberals.
The dangers of the presidency
The Belgian Presidency of the European Union also poses some dangers for De Croo. The head of the federal government must be careful not to be too absorbed by an oppressive agenda which would distance him from Belgian realities. The N-VA is just waiting for this: since October 1, 2020, the day the Vivaldi ministers were sworn in, the Flemish nationalists have been trying to pass Alexander De Croo off as an “above ground” agent, a champion of placement mainly concerned about his future international career…
“There is a real risk of being scattered between national issues and the European agenda, recognizes an Open VLD source. This is why we will adopt a qualitative rather than quantitative strategy to approach the presidency of the Union. We will also make sure to make the most of these six months to exploit them in national policy.”
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