Conner Rousseau, the former Flemish socialist leader, is leaving politics. It’s unclear whether this is a sabbatical or a final leave-taking. He is resigning from the Flemish parliament and plans to work as an independent professional.
In recent months Mr Rousseau had taken the Flemish socialist Vooruit party to new heights in the opinion polls, but a night of heavy drinking that led to a racist and sexist rant witnessed by police officers signed his demise and he resigned as party leader last month.
“I’m going to work on myself” he told his followers on Instagram. “And I’m not doing this at parliament’s expense. That explains my choice”.
It is unclear whether Mr Rousseau will ever return to frontline politics. In November the Flemish socialists announced he would head their list of candidates for the Flemish parliament in the East Flanders constituency. The decision was to be confirmed at a conference on Sunday, but the conference has now been delayed.