This is a new door closing for Didier Reynders. After weeks spent campaigning with European parliamentarians, the Belgian candidate sees the general secretariat of the Council of Europe pass under his nose, a position he had already tried to run for in 2019.
What will the liberal be able to do now once his mandate as European Commissioner for Justice ends? Just like his old enemy Charles Michel, the sixty-year-old refused to play an electoral role for the MR in the spring. In the fall, there is a strong chance that it will be the MR who, in turn, refuses to offer him a role, even if his CV includes 7 occurrences of the word minister, a line on the Liberal presidency (there is 21 years old) and the highlighting of a significant track record of international experience.
Formerly a central figure in Belgian-European politics, Didier Reynders, following a succession of unfortunate choices, took the path that leads to the periphery of power, this secondary zone where old figures are resettled. But even this option is not assured either since the new MR who arrived wishes to put an end to the existence of these instances created to resettle. It’s not always easy to find a good parachute when the pension rings the door.
