The Public Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) violently grabbed Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) to stop him from leaving a ministerial meeting on Wednesday evening, Business AM reports.
"We were left speechless," an anonymous deputy PM said of the incident, which is the latest reflection of growing tensions between the ministers currently governing the country.
According to the news website, the Public Health Minister wanted to touch upon medical reimbursement costs before the conclave ended. Van Quickenborne had other ideas though as he made his way towards the door.
Incensed, Vandenbroucke allegedly "grabbed the Justice Minister and furiously held him back," according to eyewitnesses. Both men had to be separated by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo after Van Quickenborne tried to pull away from Vandenbroucke's grip.
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The Justice Minister has since told Belga News Agency that "I am not taking the matter lightly" but that he had discussed the incident with Vandenbroucke, who had apologised. "It is now in everyone's interest to move beyond this issue and keep a cool head," he concluded.
However, Business AM claim that this wasn't Vandenbroucke's first "violent" incident during a government meeting. "He acts in this way with all of the senior ministers," a senior source told Business AM. "He often crosses the line and behaves in a transgressive fashion."
Moreover, the scuffle is also the latest proof of an ongoing war within the Belgian Government, Indeed, the parties are said to be currently over the upcoming tax reform and the ongoing scandal surrounding Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib after she granted visas to Iranian officials for a summit in Brussels.
