President of Les Engagés, Yvan Verougstraete, and his predecessor, now the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, have voiced strong criticism of several public statements made by MR party president Georges-Louis Bouchez.
In social media posts on Saturday, the centrist leaders targeted their government partner over issues related to refinancing CPAS in the context of unemployment benefit reforms and the developmental aid budget.
In an interview with La Libre, Bouchez advocated the liberal perspective ahead of a significant round of federal negotiations, suggesting Belgium needs a figure akin to Margaret Thatcher and arguing for increased spending cuts.
Verougstraete countered by insisting the MR cannot dictate government priorities alone, describing Bouchez’s suggestions as reckless, particularly regarding time-limited unemployment benefits without proper financial support for CPAS.
Tensions further escalated with Maxime Prévot, who criticised Bouchez’s call for deeper cuts to the development aid budget, stating that already planned reductions are substantial and going further would be untenable.
