The former leader of the Flemish Socialist Party (Vooruit) Conner Rousseau is to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming elections after all. Mr Rousseau stepped down as party leader in November last year after it was revealed that he had made racist, xenophobic and sexist comments while drunk at a bar in his hometown of Sint-Niklaas.
Since then, Mr Rousseau has taken a step back from the public eye and there had been questions as to whether he would even be standing as a candidate on 9 June.
Now VRT News sources have confirmed that Mr Rousseau will be the final candidate on the Vooruit list for the Flemish Parliament in East Flanders. The current party leader Melissa Depraetere will formally announce that Mr Rousseau is to stand at a press conference that is due to be held at 4pm today.
In January it was announced that he would not be the first candidate on the list. Then Mr Rousseau said that he was not ready for a comeback. However, support for the former party leader remained strong and he was given until 13 April to decide whether or not he would be standing.