Michaël Vossaert has officially joined Belgium's liberal party, the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), after distancing himself from Francophone party DéFI for several years.
In MR's statement, Vossaert said the party offers the most credible vision to ensure Brussels does not lose direction.
Vossaert had left DéFI before the 2024 regional elections, dissatisfied with the position he was given on its electoral lists. He then ran as an independent on an MR list for local elections in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
On Thursday, the MR confirmed Vossaert's membership in its Brussels ranks. Party president Georges-Louis Bouchez noted that Vossaert fully embraces the MR’s goals of promoting a pragmatic, results-oriented agenda, with an emphasis on youth, training, and employment, particularly in the north-west of Brussels.
Vossaert's political career began in 2008 as a parliamentary assistant for the FDF, which later became DéFI.
Elected to the Molenbeek council in 2012, he later held positions as a Brussels regional deputy and as a representative in the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation from 2019 to 2024.
In March 2024, Vossaert cited a breakdown of trust with DéFI leader François De Smet during the party's regional candidate selection process.
Previously, in 2022, he had unsuccessfully challenged De Smet in an internal election for the party presidency.
