Greater public security with more police patrols, improvements to urban cleanliness and an overhaul of the city's housing programme are among the priorities published by David Weytsman, leader of the MR+ umbrella party in Brussels. He is campaigning to be mayor of the City of Brussels.
The liberal list is made up of MR, Open Vld, and Voor U party members, as well as independent candidates. The full programme and candidates was revealed on Thursday.
"We need more officers on the street and the reallocation of resources. Police funding has not kept up with inflation," Weytsman said. He went on: "The city has never been dirtier. Cleaning and penalties need to be dealt with. I will get a grip on public cleanliness if I become mayor."
The party also favours a shift in how social welfare is provided. This would move towards "emancipation" that would minimise reliance on assistance. This would mean redirecting a section of public housing programmes to promote home ownership.
Improving public space
Other measures to improve security include installing 300 more public cameras, putting emergency call stations in central pedestrian areas, enforcing more fines and expanding administrative sanctions to include petty violence and degradation. Using children for begging would also be forbidden, as would begging on the Grand Place and Boulevard Anspach.
Planned environmental initiatives include planting 20,000 trees in public spaces, clamping down on noise pollution and transforming the NEO housing project at Heysel into an energy-positive district.
The Good Move traffic plan would also be re-evaluated. MR+ is against rolling it out to Laeken and instead favours more local interventions, including plans to renovate pavements and revise parking tariffs and schedules.
In line with the liberal principles that MR+ stands for, it suggests tax-free zones and aid to support traders and independents. It also would adjust the aims of some of the CPAS (which provide social support), to focus on promoting young entrepreneurship and supporting single-parent families. This would go along with tighter criteria to apply for social allocations.
The party calls for an external audit of city and CPAS spending, and a reduction in operating expenses, research costs and open-source software.
