In an interview with VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’, the leader of the Francophone Christian democrat party (Les Engagés) Maxime Prévot said that he has his doubts as to whether the leader of the Flemish nationalist party (N-VA) Bart De Wever would be the right man in the right place if he were to become federal Prime Minister. “It is up to him to prove that he can unite and respect all Belgians”.
Francophone Christian democrat leader says “I have my doubts about Bart De Wever as Prime Minister”
Published:
On the morning after the elections Maxime Prévot already said he would prefer not to see Bart De Wever (N-VA) become Belgium’s next prime minister. A week later, Mr Prévot told the VRT that "I am not in the habit of vetoing people out of hand. I prefer to look at their ideas first”.
The leader of the Francophone liberals (MR) Georges-Louis Bouchez seems to have few issues with Mr De Wever becoming Prime Minister. However, Mr Prévot remembers that in the past Mr De Wever “has made comments that have insulted people in the south of the country”.
"I currently have my doubts about Bart De Wever as Prime Minister. It would make sense because he is the leader of the country's largest party. But it is up to him to prove that he can bring all Belgians together and respect them. That he is an ambassador for a country he wishes defends and not for a country he wants to divide. The ball is in his court."
However, the door is not completely closed. "It will depend on the coming weeks and months. We will see what kind of messages De Wever sends out to Francophones. Words matter, but ideas are most important. I do not agree with confederalism, but I am convinced that we can modernise our country without implementing it."
Confederalism is something that matters to Mr De Wever so won't it be very difficult to reach an agreement with him? "We will see, but I want to stay positive."