We expected everything except this, Jacky.
”Are you surprised? (Laughs) You're not the only one. But I haven't received any negative reactions yet. Some send me: 'Good idea', with a Flemish fighter for a laugh. Others say that the N-VA program is really interesting. And they are right. They set up in Wallonia to explain their projects. They contacted several Walloons who are married to a Flemish woman or who have lived in Flanders for a long time.”
Did Bart De Wever call you himself?
“No. Ben Weyts and Theo Francken. Weyts is an Anderlecht supporter. And Francken is for OHL but sometimes goes with Weyts to Sporting. However, I told them that I had no ambition in politics. I don't want to become Sports Alderman or anything. I don't go to meetings and I don't even know the names of the other candidates. I just want to help them get votes. You don't have to look any further than that. If it works because of my name: so much the better. And if not: too bad.”
How many votes do you count on?
”So, no idea. A ? Two ? Ten ? Twenty ? (Laughs) In any case, I'm not going to do debates on TV. Do you already see me in a studio alongside Paul Magnette or Raoul Hedebouw? It's not my job. I don't even do radio. The day the news was revealed, RTL asked me to come to their studio at seven in the morning. There is no question. I explain myself once – in the DH, because I know you – and that is enough. I don't even go to the N-VA family day in Plopsaland in De Panne or to the congress in Mechelen. Last week I went to help at the N-VA dinner in Opwijk. I washed dishes and helped at the bar. I didn’t even show myself between people.”
I am and remain a Belgian, my origins are in Wallonia. I'm not a candidate for Vlaams Belang, he…”
The French-speaking Anderlecht supporters will take you for a Flamingo.
“This has nothing to do with. I'm not a Flamingo at all. I am and remain a Belgian, my origins are in Wallonia. I am married to a Flemish woman, we have three children who speak Flemish and French. We have lived as many years in Flanders, whether in Limburg, East Flanders or Flemish Brabant. If I were a candidate for Vlaams Belang, I would understand if I was taken for a Flamingant.”
Ultimately, De Wever still wants the split of Belgium?
“But no. He is not against the Walloons, quite the opposite. Otherwise, he would not put the N-VA on Walloon lists. What he wants is for each region to be responsible for its own budget. In fact, he wants Wallonia to flourish too, like Flanders. He wants the whole of Belgium to be prosperous. They have really good ideas at the N-VA, but you have to take the time to read their program. Do you know that the book that De Wever wrote and translated into French is sold out?”
Have you seen that Zuhal Demir, the Flemish Minister of Energy of the N-VA, asks the Constitutional Court to prohibit Walloon meters from turning backwards for Walloon owners of solar panels?
”I said that I don't get involved in political debates. There are people better suited than me to do this. But what is certain is that we have thrown money out the window since the corona. Like with this story of masks. Why do we have a record debt of several billions in Belgium? You and I are paying for this. The N-VA says: 'Enough is enough now.'”
If you are elected, what do you do?
”I repeat that I will not hold any office. I don't want to be in the forefront. And I even less want to be the star. Linda, my wife, has been a member of the N-VA for 12 years, but she has no ambitions to be an alderman either. She prefers to help the elderly or people in need at the OCMW (the Flemish version of the CPAS). Isn’t that beautiful?”
