“If I am elected mayor this Sunday, my choice is very clear: I am giving up my position as deputy in order to devote myself to the city for six years. I will not be mayor in office, I will be in office”he insists. Would he therefore be ready to abandon the presidency of the MR? “A reorganization within the party may be necessary but it is also an opportunity for Mons to have a party president at the head of the city. It is a function which offers numerous relays and which makes it possible to plead demands at other levels of power.”
On the ground during this difficult campaign, the candidate said he perceived a real desire for change. “We suffered numerous attacks and criticisms, with candidates who did not hesitate to lie to hope to achieve their goal, but it was very exciting because we feel a real desire for change. This is probably the first time that a result different from recent years has been so possible.”
“You don’t look well, we can see that it bothers you”: the tone rises between Bouchez and Martin in a debate on Mons
A Mayor’s List-Mons en Mieux coalition is, in any case, already excluded. “It is an attitude that is not very responsible to immediately close a door because at the end of the elections, the situation could be complicated. We are not surprised since already in 2018, the discussions had not been open to us, but it is regrettable. For our part, we believe that if the city is ungovernable – which is a realistic scenario today – we must be able to put our quarrels aside.”
“Employment will be our priority”
Under this mandate and again during the campaign, Mons en Mieux took a heavy toll on the results of the outgoing majority. “What have they done to turn the city around, put people back to work? Today in Mons, one in two people of working age do not do so and municipal finances are in a deplorable state. Employment, a major difference between Flanders and Wallonia, is nevertheless at the basis of everything. This will very clearly be our priority if we gain access to city hall.”
Does the Reformer have a magic wand to “clean up” municipal finances? “We will finance our measures in particular by reducing the number of directors, cabinets and spokespersons! We have the resources but they are poorly used. We will manage public funds as if they were our own. Gifts to friends, the multiplication of structures carrying out the same missions, it will be over. We will take difficult measures, unlike this majority who did not adopt any budgetary measure, contenting themselves with saying that everything was the fault of the Federal, the Region or Santa Claus.”
If he comes back, Nicolas Martin will choose Mons: “the citizens deserve a mayor who will be on the ground and who will manage his city himself”
The fear, among some, lies in the fact of witnessing, once again, a desertification of the city. “We never said we were going to delete everything, prevent the Doudou! But is it up to the city to finance Afterwork DJs when the private sector can do it, or to give money to a public media for the organization of the Doudou concert when it was supported by a local radio without the city giving a euro? Especially since, apart from a few events, spending is concentrated on bringing the city center to life. The old communes only collect the crumbs.”
“Maybe it’s time to try something other than the PS!”
Likewise, for the candidate mayor, the city’s cultural policy must be reviewed and adapted. “It is still too elitist and concentrated on a postage stamp perimeter of Grand-Place-Beffroi-Sainte-Waudru. Yes, the hospitality industry benefits from it and we hear all languages spoken in summer, but what about Cuesmes, Jemappes, Flénu? What are the benefits for them? Mons is 19 municipalities, that has obviously been forgotten.” Georges-Louis Bouchez pleads for more “local” culture.
“International exhibitions are good but we start by promoting the cultural and historical heritage of the city, by highlighting our own history. The exhibition that worked best in 2015 was linked to Vincent Van Gogh , because he was attached to our region. Let’s play the pride card, let’s create a feeling of belonging so that the people of Montois are proud to be Montois.”
Convinced that change is happening now, Georges-Louis Bouchez does not hide his hopes. “With the June results, I can consider lots of functions, I don’t need the mayorship. But I choose to compete, to take the risk precisely because I love my city more than anything. Today, it is poorly managed and major obstacles must be removed, or risk going to the wall. After 70 years of socialism, it is perhaps time to try something else, to benefit from a new dynamism, new ideas.”
The choice is indeed up to the voters who vote on Sunday.
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