After being strongly criticised for his appearance and apparent "laziness" on a Flemish reality television show Special Forces: Who Dares Wins, leader of the Francophone liberal MR party Georges-Louis Bouchez stated that he does not think his appearance hurt his image.
Bouchez took part in the Special Forces programme along with ten other celebrities – including singers, actors and athletes – to follow a six-day training course in the Moroccan desert to join the Special Forces, the Belgian army's elite unit. However, he made himself anything but popular.
"Those who say it hurts my political image are haters," he hold Het Laatste Nieuws. “This programme has nothing to do with my ideas about nuclear power plants, employment or lower taxes, does it? Do you really think people will not vote for me because I cannot push a car through the desert or because I cannot twist around a horizontal bar? Come on."
While speculations about Bouchez's behind-the-scenes behaviour ran wild on social media after a Flemish magazine claimed that he had an assistant who carried his suitcases and that he still took a mobile phone with him, despite agreements that this was not allowed.
'Not a fils-à-papa'
"That is completely untrue," said Bouchez. "Clear agreements had been made in advance with the production house that I had to remain accessible. I cannot afford to be unreachable in my position. That is why there was an employee who manned my two mobile phones and informed me of urgent matters."
Additionally, he added that "of course" he carries his own bags, saying that he is "not a fils-à-papa [a spoiled brat]" and has "always worked to get somewhere." In the meantime, production house Banijay also confirmed Bouchez's explanation about both the mobile phones and the suitcases.
Bouchez's departure also raised questions about the difficulty of the tests to join the Belgian Army – as Bouchez recently announced that he passed those "effortlessly" when signing up as an army reservist earlier this year. Indeed, this means that Bouchez could be called up to fight should war break out in Belgium, regardless of his efforts in Special Forces.
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Still, his short stint on Flemish television showed him refusing to drag heavy jerry cans up and down a hill, walking when he was ordered to run and generally holding back the rest of his struggling teammates to the point that his instructors called him a "dead weight" to the group.
"Look, I took a risk by participating without preparation, but I did try," he said. "We have entered a world of bashing, where everyone likes to see others fall on their ass and political opponents are sometimes ready to kill. That is really sad."
Still, Bouchez stressed that he does not regret his participation. "I had fun and I got to know nice people. I will keep going."
