Prime Minister Bart De Wever broke his silence in parliament on Thursday, responding to allegations that his government was allowing children to sleep on the streets.
Throughout the debate on the government’s policy statement, De Wever had remained silent, but shortly after 10 p.m, he addressed comments by Groen legislator Matti Vandemaele, who had criticised the government for allegedly forcing families with children to sleep outdoors.
“I did not intend to intervene in this debate, as I will respond later,” De Wever said. “But there are limits to indecency.”
He acknowledged that families and children had indeed slept on the streets but, he told Vandemaele, this was “particularly the case under a government in which your party participated.” This was a reference to the Vivaldi coalition, which had included the Groen party.
He also reminded Vandemaele that during that period, the state was repeatedly condemned for its actions and had ignored those rulings. “You speak of the rule of law. What audacity!” De Wever added.
The Prime Minister stressed that families with children should not, in principle, be sleeping on the streets today. “Housing in reception centres is always offered, but several families often refuse it. That is their choice,” he said.
Vandemaele rejected his remarks, describing them as “outright lies.”
He argued that families are neither making a free choice nor refusing help voluntarily. “By acting in this way, you are knowingly and actively forcing families with children back onto the streets,” he charged.
“Professionals working with these children and families unanimously agree: it is not a matter of free choice,” the Groen legislator argued. “You can accuse me or Groen of what happened in the past, but that does not absolve you of your moral responsibility today.”
