Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of the centre-right francophone party MR, has vigorously defended his choice of Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbid as Belgium’s nominee for the next European Commission, insisting that she has already proved she can handle major responsibilities.
Lahbib has come under fire for being a weak, inexperienced and invisible foreign minister – notably issuing a controversial visa for the Mayor of Tehran – and for heading the MR list for the communal elections next month. Speaking to The Brussels Times, Bouchez insisted she led Belgium’s EU presidency with distinction in the first half of this year and would be an asset to the Commission.
“She knows the EU from her work running the presidency and she accumulated a lot of experience in her two years as Foreign Minister, in which she has kept up support for Ukraine, dealt with the conflict in the Middle East and secured the release of Olivier Vandecasteele from Iran. She knows how to build compromises and find solutions,” Bouchez said.
He argued the selection is further justified in light of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's desire for a gender balance in her incoming team. “Some people might complain because she is a woman and she's not from a traditional background. We wanted a feminisation and modernisation of our image, so this was the best choice.”
Hadja Lahbib talks to the press at the arrival for a Minister's Kern meeting of the Federal Government to discuss the situation in Gaza. Credit: Belga
While the complicated, multi-party negotiations for a Federal Government are ongoing, MR was allowed to choose Belgium’s EU Commissioner. But rather than sticking with Didier Reynders – an MR grandee and the current outgoing EU Justice Commissioner – Bouchez opted for Lahbib.
“Yes, he was disappointed,” Bouchez admitted. “It was a difficult choice but I had to make it. Like a football manager, at the end of the day, I had to put a name on a piece of paper, and we had a high-quality candidate who is young and fresh and will be a positive image for Belgium. She has the ability to communicate issues, and she can make real connections with ordinary people – which is something that the EU has struggled with.”
Bouchez also hit back at suggestions that Lahbib should pull out of heading the MR’s list in Schaerbeek, given that, as Commissioner, she would be unable to take up a post as mayor or even council member. “She is there to express a vision for Schaerbeek even if she does not take up a role. That is the case elsewhere. Why focus only on MR? Elio Di Rupo ran for mayor of Mons when he was already Prime Minister. And I think voters in Schaerbeek are perfectly able to choose for themselves about who to vote for.”
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Bouchez said he hoped the negotiations on a Federal Government would be completed before the local elections on 13 October, but it will be difficult. “We are working together on this, the talks are continuing and we’ll see how it goes,” he said, adding that he expected Bart De Wever – leader of the Flemish nationalist-conservative N-VA party – to be the next Prime Minister.
He insisted the mood was upbeat within the five-party negotiations on a so-called "Arizona" coalition between the MR, N-VA, Flemish socialist Voorhuit, Flemish conservative CD&V and francophone centrist Les Engagés.
“It’s very friendly. We joke amongst ourselves. I joke. Bart De Wever jokes. I obviously get on very well with [Les Engagés leader] Maxime Prévot. It’s much, much better than five years ago when we had the Vivaldi negotiations [for the seven-party coalition currently in power]. Then, the mood was much more difficult, more tense, much less friendly.”
