Brussels minister Elke Van den Brandt has criticised MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez for appointing Boris Dilliès as Minister-President, despite his lack of Dutch language skills.
Van den Brandt revealed on the HLN podcast “Het Rapport van de Wetstraat” that Bouchez was asked in advance to consider bilingualism when assembling the Brussels government.
Brussels recently formed a new government, over 600 days since the last elections. However, attention has focused on Dilliès’ inadequate knowledge of Dutch.
The Francophone Liberal Minister-President has admitted his Dutch is insufficient and pledged to improve it significantly.
Van den Brandt stressed that the importance of bilingualism was made clear to Bouchez, highlighting issues that Dutch speakers often face in hospitals and municipal services due to language barriers.
She expressed disappointment that Dutch was not deemed an essential requirement for the minister-president’s role, which she said was “painful” for the Dutch-speaking community.
MR's Georges-Louis Bouchez arrives at the start of the conclave for the formation of a Brussels government, Tuesday 10 February 2026, in Brussels. Credit: Belga/Jonas Roosens
Van den Brandt also commented on Bouchez’s longstanding claims of wanting to learn Dutch, saying she had yet to hear him speak a single full sentence in the language.
She hopes Dilliès will take learning Dutch more seriously, adding: "He is an intelligent man, and I expect he will master Dutch quickly."
On Wednesday, a Dutch-language version of the new Brussels Government coalition agreement was finally published on its website – six days after the text was finalised (in French).
