It was therefore decided within the local section to appoint Patrick Thiry as CPAS advisor. As for Christian Ferdinand, he would participate in various commissions (Sustainable Development and Mobility). Except that the matter was escalated to Défi headquarters. Its president Sophie Rohonyi would have informed the mayor of Braine-l’Alleud that Christian Ferdinand would be the next CPAS advisor, thereby removing Patrick Thiry.
For Olivier Gasia, this decision taken by the president goes against the party’s statutes and goes back to the agreement in principle which was sent to him last week. “This is a violation of local autonomy. I see that the good governance advocated by the party is only a facade.” After 13 years as a Défi activist, Olivier Gasia therefore takes “the painful choice to leave this party whose values I shared and for which I actively campaigned. He also announces that he will not join another political party.
“Very dishonesty”
On the side of the president of Défi, Sophie Rohonyi, we are talking “very dishonest” from Olivier Gasia. Indeed, the president of Amarantes explains that there was another agreement directly designating Christian Ferdinand as CPAS advisor. The agreement provided that he would not appear on the mayor’s list in exchange for this place at the CPAS. And the agreement held the regional president, the president of the province, the local president (Olivier Gasia) and Christian Ferdinand. Even the mayor of Braine-l’Alleud was aware of the decision. “I explained that we are not going back on an agreement, addresses Sophie Rohonyi. So I only respected and did not interfere in anything. This is the principle of good governance.”
Sophie Rohonyi gives the reason for the problem. It comes from an enmity between Christian Ferdinand and Olivier Gasia. But what the latter criticizes is a behavior “déloyal“from Christian Ferdinand who made a publication encouraging his son-in-law, Les Engagés candidate on the Waterloo Ensemble list.”It’s just a publication for his partner’s son. For the rest, he campaigned for Défi and now we’re just going to look for the little beast to change the agreement.” continues Sophie Rohonyi.
