To understand why this situation occurs, we must go back to the day after the municipal elections of June 13. The campaign between the socialist and his liberal rival, Georges-Louis Bouchez – the president of the MR led the Mons list in a better way – was very tough and ended up pushing the outgoing mayor to announce that whatever happens, he will not govern not with the Mons List but better. At the end of the polls his Mayor’s List missed the absolute majority for a seat, but in his eyes it remained a victory since the MR failed to dislodge him. Its green partner since 2018 has gone from six to two elected officials, it is a serious disappointment which decides the Greens to opt for the opposition. Especially since the contribution of the two environmentalist seats is not likely to make the coalition very stable. However, the rapid prospect of a PS-Engaged-Eco alliance leads the Greens to review their position and agree to enter into negotiations with the other two.
Except that at the start of the negotiations, Les Engagés showed a face which did not convince the socialists. The head of the list, Pascale Grandjean, is not there, absent for several days for professional reasons, she leaves other elected officials on her list to discuss. When she returns, she forgets, we are told to bring her list of demands. She will end up sending it by email to the socialists and ecologists. A source tells us that this list is very light and that in their eyes the Engaged are mainly there to negotiate positions rather than the substance of the common project. At Les Engagés we rather denounce the “old political practices” of the PS which would have demanded pledges regarding future financial support from the Walloon government (MR-Engagés) with regard to Mons projects.
“We are in a bad situation”: The prospect of an alliance with the PTB embarrasses Écolo
Unreliable Engaged
In the end, Les Engagés are considered unreliable by the PS which has a hand in these negotiations. So Nicolas Martin turns to the PTB. On the socialist side and even on the environmentalist side, we consider that the PTB leader, Céline De Bruyn, is serious, correct and completely professional. Three-way negotiations begin. Among ecologists, the sequence is not ideal, but we decide “that we must take our responsibilities”we are told. For the national authorities of the party, in Mons as in Forest, it was the PS which brought the PTB into the negotiations, and if the party were to ally itself with such a coalition which must be validated by the local authorities, it will be seen as “exceptions”.
In the PS Monois, however, there are two clans. That of the current mayor and that of the heirs of his predecessor, Elio Di Rupo. This second clan did not necessarily view the participation of the PTB favorably. It was therefore necessary to reach an agreement between socialists, which led to the long delays of recent days. But in the end, Mons will be the first Walloon city and the only one to be led by a coalition including the PTB.
