It was announced on Sunday afternoon that Lien Van de Kelder (Vooruit) will become councilor for Culture, Work, Equal Opportunities and Development Cooperation in Antwerp. It was already clear during the campaign that she wanted to go for that position, she is “very happy” with her new powers and hopes to give the Antwerp resident “a nice six years”.
“I am of course very happy, that will not surprise you,” Van de Kelder responds cheerfully. “I hope we can give the Antwerp resident a nice six years. We are going to help all those talented people find a good job and ensure that they can go to a nice play or museum in the evening.”
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The politician wants to work constructively with the cultural sector during those six years. “We are going to ensure that there is a very good ecosystem for stakeholders in that sector, so that they can just do their thing. But every now and then we have to kick the shins. I think it’s important to hold up a mirror.” However, kicking in the shins has been quite sensitive in recent years. Whether, according to Van de Kelder, there is a breach of trust between the city of Antwerp and the cultural sector? “I think the text that is there is a constructive and confidence-inspiring basis.”
“Horizontal lines”
Van de Kelder speaks of “horizontal lines, across powers”, in the new administrative agreement. “Which means that we will have to work together a lot. And I have high hopes that it will succeed. I have a lot of confidence in this team. A very strong foundation has been formed, which was partly created at the negotiating table.”
