La Libre contacted several party leaders. The reactions are unanimous, between dismay and condemnation.
“I don’t understand what’s been going on in Olivier Maingain’s head for several months,” reacted Didier Gosuin, former Brussels minister. “He participated in the electoral defeat of June 9 through his actions. It's terrible to end your career like this. He is destroying a party he led for so long and is now attending its funeral.”
The former mayor of Auderghem added: “Défi's approach, by agreeing to discuss with the other parties, consists of saying that we cannot allow Brussels to get bogged down. Yes, we refuse what the N-VA has put on the table, and this Flemish note constitutes a casus belli. But Francophones must get back on a viable trajectory. Otherwise we'll put a noose around our necks. However, by leaving Défi, Olivier Maingain is playing into the hands of those who want to divide Brussels. It provokes the co-management of Brussels by Flanders and Wallonia. I am loyal to my party and I believe that the situation is catastrophic for Brussels. Olivier Maingain only adds chaos to chaos.”
Emmanuel De Bock: “I’m stunned”
“This news is incredible… I am stunned“, reacted strongly to Emmanuel De Bock, unsuccessful candidate in the last presidential election at Défi.
Can the party survive the departure of its most emblematic figure, who presided over it for a quarter of a century? “Everyone can survive the departure of Olivier Maingain. He is the one who put our party in the state it is in today, after his quarrel with François De Smet“continues Emmanuel De Bock. “We wondered if he could do even more harm to the party. The answer is yes. Olivier Maingain suffers from the syndrome of someone who cannot pass the baton to the next generation, even though he did everything to support the election of Sophie Rohonyi to the presidency.”
