“First of all, it is regrettable to see that Ms. Dedonder flouts the duty of reserve of a minister in current affairs. When one is in this position, one must observe reserve regarding political expressions linked to her ministerial office. C It is therefore very curious to see her express herself in this way. We cannot use her title of minister to express herself politically in the middle of an electoral campaign, especially on subjects for which she is no longer responsible, unless she is in charge. This does not concern urgent matters. This poses a democratic problem in relation to the rules of the duty of confidentiality, and this is not a minor problem. I regret this and I draw the minister’s attention to respect. of this reservation, or on the advisability of resigning in order to be able to express oneself freely”.
Ludivine Dedonder warns about the future of the army: “We have put Defense back on track but what Arizona is planning is the return of famine”
Can you still hear the criticism of the budgetary trajectory imagined by Arizona? You were the first to criticize the previous government regarding the lack of investment in military spending.
“Above all, I find it curious to see people on the left attacking Arizona as if it were already a government in place. However, the majority does not yet exist, and therefore the partial elements which fuel the comments are based on the words or interpretations of certain people What I can tell you is that many soldiers contact me and tell me that they are relieved to know that Ms Dedonder is going to leave her post at Defense. What comes up often is that she did not know her files in depth. I hear this relief, although it is not necessarily my personal opinion..
guillementMany soldiers contact me and tell me that they are relieved to know that Ms. Dedonder will be leaving her post.”
Besides, how do you judge the record of the outgoing minister? “She did not rebuild the army alone, even if she thinks so. I am not here to criticize her, but we must accept the rules of duty of reserve and the results of the elections. What is striking is that is the desire of the PS and the PTB, less so at Ecolo, to condemn the potential government of Arizona before it even exists, and before a government agreement is published. This raises questions on an intellectual level. because it is not on the basis of leaks or “heard of” that we should judge a government. It is even surreal to judge a government before it is made official in the House. telling people that everything is going to be taken away from them and that it will be horrible is still extremely limited from an intellectual and ethical point of view. That’s why I wanted to say to Ms. Dedonder: “stop. to lies”.
Where will Ludivine Dedonder stop? “We expect very big progress from the Minister of Defense”
From an investment point of view, what do you think should be prioritized?
“There was the time of Vivaldi and there will be the time of Arizona. In terms of investment projects for Defense, it is obvious that the STAR plan must be updated. There are debates, but also budgetary realities One thing is clear: around the table, there is a majority who understand the awareness, since the Swedish government, of the need for financial commitments. was at 9 billion, under Vivaldi at 11 billion, and yet, we are still second to last in the NATO ranking. Taking into account the European and international context, there is a general awareness, from all parties,. of the need to take charge of our share of responsibility in matters of Defense”.
Regarding pension reform, more and more members of the military are concerned about Arizona’s plan to revise the retirement age to 67. What do you answer them? “First of all, I think that systematically making people who are not on the left look like reactionaries who want to exhaust the military must stop. It is clear that there is a need for reflection on the pensions debate. And on a personal level, I think it will be necessary, in the course of this debate, to return to the question of arduousness. One job is not the other, and no one has ever said that the military. had to work to the point of exhaustion, while respecting the duty of reserve. This is all part of the debate and I am not a medium, I cannot predict how this will be finalized. I have a duty that I respect vis-. towards the partners of the majority However, I cannot accept that we tell lies under the pretext that we are in the campaign. It bothers me a lot that we say that we do not consider the military in our work..
Denis Ducarme demands accountability from Ludivine Dedonder following the army scandal: “I have never suffered what I have just suffered”
What can you say about the Defense discussions? “What I can say is that there are very involved people around the table like Theo Francken, Ms Verlinden and myself in matters of Defense. There are no discussions around Defense without that the question of the military is at the center of concerns, particularly with regard to the well-being of the military. Whatever the difficult budgetary context, there is an awareness, to which the MR has contributed, of the need to. meet NATO’s requirements regarding the 2% threshold as much as possible. To say that this is not at the heart of the discussions is a lie.”.
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