The newly-appointed Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, Boris Dilliès (MR), found himself under fire for his command of Dutch just hours after taking the role, Belga reports.
Dilliès was called on Saturday morning at 07:00 by MR leader George-Louis Bouchez, who offered the role to the former mayor of Uccle, who accepted it and agreed to leave his post in Uccle to lead the region.
Speaking on RTL after the evening news, Dilliès admitted he had not sought the role but quickly accepted the offer.
However, just hours after being sworn in, the new Brussels leader was interviewed by Dutch-speaking journalists, to whom he responded to all questions: "We zullen zien" [we shall see].
His vague and hesitant responses prompted a furious response in the Flemish press, which once again chastised the French-speaking bourgeoisie of Brussels for their poor command of Dutch.
This was the same reproach which had already been made to another liberal Minister-President of Brussels, more than 20 years ago, Daniel Ducarme, who has since died, RTBF reports.
On Monday, Dilliès explained that he will now work on his Dutch as soon as possible, on RTBF radio, explaining that he had not practised Dutch in 20 years.
He recalled working in a Dutch-speaking company in the private sector two decades ago, where his skills were functional but never excellent.
The new Brussels Region Minister team, with L-R: Audrey Henry, Ans Persoons, Dirk De Smedt, Elke Van den Brandt, Minister-President Boris Dillies, Ahmed Laaouej, Laurent Hublet and Karine Lalieux. Credit: Belga
Dilliès acknowledged the importance of mastering the language, saying: "When you stop practising a language altogether, it tends to disappear. But I owe it to the people of Brussels to have a good command. It's essential, and I plead guilty."
He added that he has begun using "a series of mechanisms" to improve his Dutch, though he did not provide specifics.
He assured that his proficiency would progress gradually and asked for understanding regarding his lack of preparedness.
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