Former Brussels Mayor Bart Dhondt has been elected president of the Groen party in a second round of voting, receiving 59.1% of the vote.
In the first round, Dhondt obtained 49.1% of the vote, ahead of Bright Adiyia (28.3%) and Celia Groothedde (20.3%). He will lead the Flemish ecologists alongside Natacha Waldmann, who will be vice-president.
The new president has announced a Spring offensive during which the party's doors and windows will be wide open.
"In the Spring, we will embark on a major journey in which we will involve members, supporters, voters and partners from the voluntary sector," Dhondt said in a press release. "We will reflect together on how our party can once again win over a large number of voters. In cities like Brussels and Ghent, we have shown that it is possible. We will continue to do so."
He said he intended to use his mandate to make clearer to voters the values and proposals of the Flemish Greens as a "progressive environmentalist alternative."
Groen was soundly defeated at the polls in last June and now needs to win back wider support within the population. To do this, the party must move away from a defensive attitude, according to its new chairman.
"In recent years, we have too often fallen victim to the frameworks imposed by the other parties. From now on, we need to put our solutions more to the fore," he said.
"We have demonstrated at the local level that our solutions work," Dhondt added. "Where we govern, people's lives are better, healthier and fairer. But unfortunately, we are not succeeding in attracting wider support."
