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With or without the N-VA?
For Défi, Ecolo and the PTB, it’s without them, that’s clear. The PS believes that we must “do everything to avoid it”, but does not say no clearly.
The MR believes that making the N-VA exclusive is irresponsible. On the Engagés side, Maxime Prévot recalls that “the challenge is to stop being obsessed by the N-VA and to first work on our objectives”.
8:38 p.m.
Who to be prime minister candidate?
For Raoul Hedebouw, “it would be good to have a real Belgian, who speaks both languages.” An option that Maxime Prévot only half likes, however.
Georges-Louis Bouchez believes that it is a “question of fantasy. We just want to talk about the substance”. A vision shared “for once” by Paul Magnette.
Jean-Marc Nollet explains that he will not join a government if there are not major ecological questions at the center of the debate. As for François De Smet, he explains that we simply need a federal government as quickly as possible.
8:33 p.m.
Fourth theme: what future for Belgium?
After June 9, coalitions will have to be formed. How do party presidents plan to go about it? The Flemish nationalists will undoubtedly have a majority, will Belgium still exist?
François De Smet: “Yes, if French speakers like Mr. Bouchez stop making love to them”
Jean-Marc Nollet: “Belgium will still exist, because citizens want to continue living in this country, even in the north”
Paul Magnette: “Yes, but we have to fight for that, the parties who are already offering the N-VA to negotiate, we must not do that”.
Georges-Louis Bouchez: “Yes, but Wallonia and Brussels must recover and break away from the slump of the left”
Maxime Prévot: “Yes, there is no doubt. Besides, no one is having sex, we are just lucid”.
Raoul Hedebouw: “The answer is yes. We are a national party: Flemish, Brussels, Walloon, all together”.
8:29 p.m.
Georges-Louis Bouchez responds… half
Attacked, the president of the MR kicks in. “I’m not going to waste speaking time on this. We realize that too many young people are doubling up. We need to refocus on basic skills: reading, writing, counting. We need to stop bothering them with administrative burdens. Let’s give them confidence, and not continue the race to the bottom.”
8:26 p.m.
Trust teachers
For Jean-Marc Nollet, we need to give confidence to these teachers. “To say that we must sweep away everything, like the MR and the PTB, it is the extremes which say it. The challenge is that the teacher feels good, that he is supported. In French-speaking education, it is “It is also essential that there is Dutch in programs for future employment.”
Christophe Deborsu then returns to the little sentence of the president of Ecolo. The MR, extreme? “On this plateau, it is a party which is at the extreme. Opposite, it is the PTB”, notes Jean-Marc Nollet.
8:22 p.m.
Raoul Hedebouw calls for “respect” for teachers
“There have been a lot of demonstrations by teachers demanding respect,” notes the president of the PTB. “We must listen to them and review this pact of excellence. When we see the sanctions provided for in this pact, I do not agree with that.”
He also believes that the classes are too full.
8:20 p.m.
“The pact must be reassessed”
François De Smet, with experience in teaching, takes the problem to heart. “One in three teachers leaves teaching in the first years, that’s huge. The pact needs to be re-evaluated, because a whole series of skills have already changed in a short time, with the world changing so quickly.
For Jean-Marc Nollet (Ecolo), we must lighten the schedule for the young people who are starting, and the more experienced who are finishing, so that the latter can help the youngest who are starting.
Maxime Prévot believes that the pace of reforms must slow down. “Then, there must be a teacher in front of each class, that is the priority. The vast majority of the problems we know have their Source in teaching.”
8:17 p.m.
Third theme: teaching
The shortage of teachers is a big problem; for Georges-Louis Bouchez, we must return to the pact of excellence. “We promised teachers to reduce the administrative burden, that was not the case. We must learn to respect these teachers. When a teacher gives back points, he is blamed, this is not acceptable. We have to give them respect.”
Opposite, the PS believes that teachers need stability. “The reforms are almost finished, we are not going to turn everything upside down yet. We need calm and serenity.”
8:15 p.m.
Paul Magnette also wants legalization
Paul Magnette finds that cannabis is “very bad”, but… “One in 4 Belgians have already consumed cannabis, that’s a fact. We must convey a public health message, but we must concentrate on the real problems.
8:12 p.m.
Everyone wants to legalize cannabis, except…
“We have to choose our battles. If we no longer attack cannabis, we can attack other hard drugs. This will also bring money back into the state coffers.
The only party opposed to this legalization is the MR of Georges-Louis Bouchez.
8:09 p.m.
Hire police officers or change the legislation?
For Raoul Hedebouw, the fight against crime is also the responsibility of the justice system, not just the police. “We haven’t talked enough about community policing. More and more police stations are closed and therefore in the neighborhoods, there are no longer open police stations.”
So should cannabis be legalized? “For us, yes, it would help tackle hard drugs.”
8:05 p.m.
“The State no longer scares delinquents”
“We have more police officers than all the neighboring countries,” notes Georges-Louis Bouchez. “Our police officers are sucked in by administrative burdens. We want heavy and above all enforceable sanctions. Today, the State no longer scares delinquents.”
“The problem is not only in Brussels,” explains the president of Ecolo. “We need a real clean-hands operation in Belgium, in drug and arms trafficking. When we want to sweep a staircase, we start at the top, we must reverse the burden of proof.”
8:01 p.m.
Second theme: drugs, this danger
How to fight against this scourge? Maxime Prévot wants more police officers. “Citizens are worried, insecurity is increasing, unease is spreading. We must act upstream, in the heart of the neighborhood. It is abnormal that the prison has become a school of crime,” he notes.
On the PTB side, we must attack the Source: the port of Antwerp. “We must strengthen customs, put resources there. Finally, we must lift banking secrecy. Al Capone was caught, because the transactions were detected.”
8:00 p.m.
Défi wants to tax in income
To finance this, François De Smet wants to tackle crime. “We have to get this money from the super-criminals. We are asking for the creation of a national financial prosecutor’s office, as France has done, which brings in billions,” he notes. “Just do the same thing, and it will provide a huge boost.
For Maxime Prévot, the tax on the super-rich is not the solution. “Today, many are on sick leave because of health care. So we need to tackle this. Health issues are essential.”
7:57 p.m.
“It’s time to make the super-rich pay”
For Raoul Hedebouw, the solution is simple. “The rich are getting richer, so we have to get the money there. All the parties voted against it, but we can do it in the future,” he believes.
7:57 p.m.
How to finance this?
To increase these salaries, money is needed. How to do ? “By making greater contributions to the 2-3% of the richest people,” announces Paul Magnette (PS).
7:53 p.m.
“Let’s give businesses some breathing space”
“When I hear that we want an increase in wages for companies, entrepreneurs must be able to do it and therefore give them the means to do it,” believes François De Smet. “In terms of labor, administrative burden, in particular. Let’s give companies breathing room to increase salaries.”
7:51 p.m.
Ecolo wants to invest, invest, invest
Jean-Marc Nollet estimates that to face economic and climate challenges, 15 billion euros must be invested. “We must offer it to citizens, to insulate the house, to increase the supply of public transport. Investing is our priority,” he says.
7:50 p.m.
Attacks between Magnette and Bouchez
“Talking about work when you are mayor of a city (Charleroi) where one in two people does not work is very funny. Paul Magnette has been lying for months,” says Georges-Louis Bouchez. “The big difference between the left and us is that we want to grant this increase to the middle class.”
7:47 p.m.
“The MR, a true workers’ party”
Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the MR, mentions a simple rule: a minimum difference of 500 euros between someone who works and an unemployed person. “We finance it by better supporting job seekers and by being stricter: people are not sick and have certificates of convenience, some should work, they can afford it.”
“As a labor party, we defend workers,” notes Raoul Hedebouw of the PTB. “I propose a liberalization of salaries, so that they can increase, as well as a tax reform.”
7:44 p.m.
“Central theme”
On the socialist side, Paul Magnette believes that this is the central theme of these elections. “Workers must be able to negotiate wage increases. We also want a tax reform so that workers can earn 300 euros net per month. There will be no socialists in governments without this reform!”
Among the Engagés, Maxime Prévot wants a “credible” reform. “We want a net difference of 450 euros for people who work compared to people who do not work,” he explains.
7:50 p.m.
First theme: purchasing power
This is the number one concern of Belgians: what will happen to their wallets after June 9? It is Jean-Marc Nollet who begins the debate: “For us, the priority is to increase salaries, so that people can find oxygen. We go up to 350 euros more”, explains- he.
“We need a tax reform that makes the system fairer, by simplifying the lives of workers,” continues François De Smet, of Défi.
7:23 p.m.
To be continued on RTL-TVI and RTL Play
This debate, which will last about an hour, is visible on RTL TVI and on RTL Play. On this live, we will come back to the highlights and opinions of the show.
7:20 p.m.
The final debate
This Thursday, the 6 presidents of the major parties meet one last time before the European, federal and regional elections which will take place this Sunday, June 9.
Jean-Marc Nollet (Ecolo), Raoul Hedebouw (MR), Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), François De Smet (Défi), Maxime Prévot (les Engagés) and Paul Magnette (PS) will face our journalists Christophe Deborsu and Martin Buxant.
