When speaking to Brussels residents voting in the municipal elections on Sunday, it emerged that local politics is still the best way to achieve change in their neighbourhood, even if a deep distrust in politics persists.
Far less glamorous, but with as much importance as the regional, federal and European elections in June, the Belgian local elections took place across Belgium on 13 October. Many voters in the Belgian capital were enthusiastic about voting for candidates with close proximity to local issues.
"It is about everyday life that is all around us," Matthias (40), an employee at the European Commission with Belgian-Polish nationality, told The Brussels Times. "I know a lot of people who are struggling with housing, and there are more and more people living on the street. Just look at the statistics."
"How can it be that the commune that is the capital of Europe has thousands of people living homeless?" he asked.
"It’s more about the candidates themselves this time round," Marolles resident and IT specialist Jan (65) said. "I don’t have any personal connections to the candidates but a lot of them have approached me, probably because we live close together."
Jan (65) and his daughters Camille (21) and Aude (20) voting in Marolles. Credit: The Brussels Times
Local context takes priority over party ideology for others. Lena (63), a teacher who has lived in the city centre for 25 years, says she voted for "practical change" and went against her own party allegiance to Mouvement Réformateur (MR) for the first time.
"Environmentally speaking, the centre is a catastrophe – just look around. Living here isn’t what it used to be. I have been here for 25 years and cleanliness and security have only gotten worse."
"Once upon a time [the city centre] was like a village but that is no longer the case. Things are so impersonal now – there is a real lack of community."
'I only voted because it's compulsory'
Lena feels frustrated by the limits of politics to resolve these issues, and views many politicians as performative and untrustworthy.
"Mohamed Ouriaghli is on the Socialist Party's list even though he got done for corruption in the past," she said. "We all call him Pourriaghli [pourri means rotten in French, ed.]."
This exasperation was shared by others on Sunday, including one polling station invigilator in Schaerbeek, who expressed indifference to the outcome of the election.
"I don't think one candidate or list would do any better than the other," he said. "I think all this political bullshit makes no sense at all." He added that, in his opinion, all problems are the same, and all the promises made by candidates are too. "I only voted because it's compulsory, I'm only here doing my job."
'I want to be a part of something'
Not everyone is jaded, however. Some voters were even encouraged to get involved in politics for the first time in their lives: 73-year-old Ixelles resident Tina was driven to vote for the first time because of her concern for the environment and her involvement in a local "energy committee", which is overseen by the commune and ensures that solar panels in schools are used to their full advantage.
"I want to be a part of something. I want to have a say in local politics."
Staring at an Ecolo poster just outside the polling station, Tina said: "I don’t know these people so I go by feeling. I look carefully at their faces and see if I feel a connection with them. It’s not very rational but it’s how I function."
How did she feel when she looked at Christos Doulkeridis, mayor of Ixelles? "He is probably a good mayor ... but I don't like him."
Ixelles residents arrive at a voting station. Credit: The Brussels Times
Two young voters in Schaerbeek said their disappointment with the federal and regional election results, which on the French-speaking side saw the decline of left-wing parties, makes the local elections all the more important.
"We feel like it is worth trying again, and a lot of it starts at a local level. Even if the results of 9 June are disappointing, I would say that the local level is the last bastion against the anti-social policies that could be put in place."
An elderly couple living in Etterbeek agreed that local elections are even more important but also more efficient.
"We can find solutions locally. If there's a local problem, it's easy to come up with answers, to get around the table and talk about it in a calm way, even by approaching the elected representatives."
