According to Paul Magnette, the media helped to raise the PTB: “You rolled out the red carpet for them 10 years ago”

PS-PTB alliance in Mons: will the MR-Engagés government take revenge by cutting off the subsidies tap?

For the president of the PS, it is normal that Nicolas Martin acted in this way. “I understand his choice due to the local context”Paul Magnette explains to us. “He was faced with an extremely aggressive campaign from the MR, with a monumental influx of money, comparable to what we could see in the United States, which is an unprecedented phenomenon here. Logically, he had affirmed that he would not govern with the MR. It is therefore normal that he respects his commitments. He interacted with all the parties, including Les Engagés, but they excluded themselves by forming a cartel with the MR. Mathematically, this redistributed the alliances.”

Sanitary cord

8 years ago, the president of the MR considered that it was possible to work with the PTB and that this party should not be excluded from democratic negotiations. Today, Georges-Louis Bouchez declares that to ally with the PTB is to side with “the worst populists and reconnect with “an ideology that has caused 100 million deaths throughout history”.

“The coalition of shame”: Georges-Louis Bouchez reacts to the tripartite List of the Mayor-PTB-Ecolo in Mons

“There is also a cordon santé established by the PS 25 years ago to contain the extreme right. However, there has never been a cordon santé towards the PTB”rejects Paul Magnette. The president of the PS specifies, however, that his party differentiates itself greatly from the PTB, particularly on international issues, in relations with China and Russia, but also on economic issues. “We do not share a communist ideology; we support private initiatives and independents. In a democracy, we often govern with allies with whom we do not completely agree. By collaborating with the PTB, we are not changing our identity.”

The role of the media

On the other hand, if the PTB has become so difficult to circumvent today, it is also because of the role played by the press, accuses Paul Magnette. “The media rolled out the red carpet for the PTB 10 years ago. It’s your fault too.”

As for the threats made by Georges-Louis Bouchez on the consequences that this new alliance could have at other levels of power, the president of the PS does not seem to be overly concerned. It is said in fact that the president of the MR will now use all his weight to prevent possible alliances in the province of Hainaut and Liège, two provinces in which the possibility of a tripartite between the PS, the MR and the Engagés is mentioned.

“We have contact, but I won’t comment”evades Paul Magnette. Before letting out a joke. “For federal negotiations, my phone is always open. But no one called us.”