The driver of Mathieu Michel, new Secretary of State for the Digital Agenda and Digital Technology, parked illegally outside the headquarters of his party, the Mouvement Réformateur (MR) for an important party meeting on Monday morning.
MR leaders met to discuss the governance of the party and, more particularly, the fate of their president, Georges-Louis Bouchez. His position is jeopardised after the announcement of appointments to the federal government and a reshuffle in the Walloon government.
Belga video journalist Maarten Weynants tweeted footage of the “brutally parked car” outside the party’s headquarters, adding that “the driver has been missing for an hour already.”
De politie checkt even of de brutaal geparkeerde auto voor de deuren van de @MR_officiel van een persmuskiet is. Nee hoor, die is gewoon van staatssecretaris @mathieumichel en de chauffeur is al een uurtje zoek ?? pic.twitter.com/BsZfruc60U
— Maarten Weynants (@MaartenWeynants) October 5, 2020
Translation: The police are checking whether the brutally parked car in front of the doors of the MR belong to an intrusive journalist. But no, it simply belongs to the Secretary of State Mathieu Michel and the driver has been missing for an hour already.
The driver was eventually found and continued to look for a parking spot, passing the headquarters at least four times according to a follow-up tweet by Weynants.
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Serious doubts
As for Bouchez's fate, “I have serious doubts, and I told him so, about Georges-Louis Bouchez’s ability to stay at the helm,” said MR House member Denis Ducarme on LN24 this morning.
Bouchez tried to move Ducarme from the federal government to the Walloon government to make place for Michel, but that's not possible due to the male/female ratio rule there.
Ducarme said he felt humiliated by the process and that "we have to try to find a common solution to get out of this quickly. We need to change the political culture and stop sending out this repugnant image."
"We must pursue a more collegial dynamic in certain decisions," said fellow MR member Willy Borsus, referring to "decisions that must be shared and supported."
Walloon Budget Minister Jean-Luc Crucke said that "we cannot take half measures. The problem is more fundamental: it is a question of knowing whether the confidence is still there today."
"We do not live in an autocracy where decisions are taken because people dream about them at night. We have to find solutions for governance that preserve democracy and make sure that when we express ourselves to the outside world, we are sure that that is what is supported by the party."
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
