French-speaking green party Ecolo will appoint new co-presidents on 13 July following a poor performance in Belgian ballots two weeks ago.
Former co-presidents Jean-Marc Nollet and Rajae Maouane resigned on 10 June after the party suffered a devastating defeat during elections the previous day. The switch-up is likely part of a plan to reinvigorate the party's chances ahead of municipal elections on 13 October. In the meantime, there will be no interim presidential team.
Candidates have until 30 June to enter into the running. One possible duo is Samuel Cogolati from Huy and Brussels-born Marie Lecocq, according to Belga News Agency. Both politicians are considered prominent figures of a new Ecolo generation. Another possibility is outgoing state secretary Marie-Colline Leroy, who might team up with former parliamentary group leader Gilles Vanden Burre.
Whichever leadership duo emerges will be under pressure to bring environmental issues back into the forefront of political debate, which Ecolo laments barely featured in the run-up to elections. Five years ago, Ecolo rode a wave of popularity linked to climate change urgency. But some believe the party lost focus and lacked strong leadership, particularly in Brussels, leading to off-message commentaries that opponents used to their advantage.
Stronger stance needed
In conversation with Belga News Agency, one party figure said: "We haven't been able to show clearly what we do. We have achievements, but they weren't highlighted enough." They added that other key points such as intersectionality were attacked by opponents to the point that "people heard more about Ecolo from our opponents than from its representatives."
When Ecolo performed badly in 2003 and 2004, the party concluded that its "participatory opposition" stance had harmed its popularity considerably. The same "participatory opposition" strategy was used more effectively by French-speaking liberals Mouvement Réformateur during the last mandate: party leader Georges-Louis Bouchez successfully attacked coalition partners and gained enormously in the most recent ballots.
In addition, Ecolo party often stood alone on issues such as the Good Move plan in Brussels, or the extension on nuclear energy use. The new team must create a unifying discourse on ecology. "These are the issues that people associate us with," another party member told Belga News Agency.
