Frederic De Gucht announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Flemish liberal party, Open VLD, on Monday.
The son of former party president and European Commissioner Karel De Gucht confirmed his bid, after having recently been appointed head of the City of Brussels section of the party.
The 42-year-old businessman criticised the recent actions of the party saying: "Open VLD has suffered its biggest defeat in history. The party needs a clear and transparent policy. We need to get back to basics: simplifying complex matters, not the other way around. We need a crisis manager and not yet another career politician."
De Gucht, who launched his political career last year, is also the lesser-known brother of former MP Jean-Jacques De Gucht.
Questioned on whether his family name might be a constraint, he replied: "I cannot control that. I have always charted my course. That doesn’t mean that I don’t respect my father and brother. I had always said I wouldn’t go into politics, but now I can no longer just watch."
De Gucht is the seventh candidate in the running to succeed Tom Ongena. Other candidates include Bert Schelfhout, Eva De Bleeker, Tineke Van Hooland, Maurits Vande Reyde, Vincent Verbeecke, and Frank Francois.
Candidacies for the Open VLD presidency closed this morning. The first round of elections will take place on August 17. If none of the candidates secure more than 50% of the vote, a second round will be held on 24 August.
