The Flemish liberal party Open VLD has designated Gwendolyn Rutten as the new Flemish home minister. She succeeds Bart Somers, who stepped down on Monday afternoon to devote himself to the mayoralty of his home town of Mechelen (Antwerp Province). For Rutten it is a remarkable comeback. Only a couple of weeks ago she announced her retreat from national politics as somebody else – Paul Van Tigchelt – had been appointed to succeed Vincent Van Quickenborne after he resigned from the post of justice minister in the federal government, when bungling came to light in connection with the shooting of two Swedish football fans in Brussels in a terrorist outrage.
Rutten was disappointed she had been overlooked to succeed Vincent Van Quickenborne. She learnt the news from the media while she felt she was qualified to fill his shoes.
Rutten headed the Flemish liberal party from 2012 to 2020 and built up a lot of experience negotiating with other parties and within her own liberal party. Rutten read law and got her first opportunity in 1999 when Karel De Gucht added her to his staff. In 2005 she became chief of staff to Fientje Moerman, the then Flemish deputy premier. Becoming party leader in 2012 is still seen as quite an achievement by many, if only because she did not possess a surname steeped in liberal tradition. In 2014 she succeeds in getting her party into government both at the Flemish and federal level, even though in Flanders her lawmakers’ votes were not required to form a majority.
Despite poor results in 2019 the liberals are back in both governments. Ambitions between Rutten and the current Belgian premier, fellow liberal Alexander De Croo, again clash. The latter prevents the creation of a liberal/socialist/green coalition and then goes on to head an eight-party federal government.
In 2020 after two terms in the job Rutten announces she won’t be standing for the party leadership again. Her achievement: a stabilisation of the liberal vote.
In her farewell statement only a couple of weeks ago she spoke of the realisation her party’s leadership saw no important role for her. Now she is back as the new Flemish home minister and minister of local government, integration and equal opportunities. She is also the liberal party’s deputy premier in Jan Jambon’s Flemish nationalist, liberal and Christian democrat coalition. “Things can happen” a famous Dutch author once said.