Party leader of the Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang, Filip Dewinter, will resign as leader of the party in the Antwerp city council in 2020 to make room for a younger party figurehead, he said in an interview with Doorbraak.be. Sam Van Rooy will take over Dewinter's position in the council, and will normally also become party leader for the municipal elections in 2024. "We want to renew and rejuvenate," Dewinter explained
"Sam Van Rooy has since been elected in the city council, and hopefully after the elections on 26 May, he will also be in the Flemish Parliament," Dewinter said to Doorbraak.be. "It is only logical to give him the opportunity to profile himself fully in the coming five years with municipal politics," he added.
Dewinter, who has been a member of the Antwerp city council since 1995, emphasized that this is not the end of his political career. "I am not gone yet. They still have to be patient," he added. For the 26 May elections, Dewinter will still be the Antwerp party leader for the Flemish Parliament.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
