East Flanders, Limburg and Flemish Brabant still have to wait for a new provincial governor. The governors play an important role in the corona crisis, says Minister of Internal Affairs Bart Somers (Open VLD). “You don’t change captain in the middle of a storm.”
–
Somers said that in an answer to a parliamentary question from Kurt De Loor (SP.A). The Flemish government must look for new provincial governors for East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and Limburg. Certainly the East Flemish have been waiting for a while: the province has been without a governor for almost two years. An objective selection procedure caused a conflict in the previous Flemish government, after which it was decided at the end of last year to return to the old habit of political appointments. Minister of Internal Affairs Bart Somers (Open VLD) wanted to tie the knots against the spring break, but that did not work.
There is no prospect of a new timing yet, Somers said on Tuesday after a question from SP.A MP Kurt De Loor. The Flemish government does not want to replace the governors in the middle of the corona crisis, it was said. In that crisis, governors play an important role in emergency planning and are the kneecap between the local authorities and the Flemish and federal authorities. They play that role well. You don’t change captain in the middle of a storm, “he said.
In any case, the governors must be replaced, Somers emphasized, but the minister cannot be pinned down on a deadline. “When the file is ripe and the conditions are there, we will appoint the right people as governors.”
‘Bland excuse’
“A poor excuse,” De Loor thought. “You are hiding behind the corona crisis to explain why there is no decision yet, but to my knowledge, the spring break was before the corona crisis.”
De Loor received support from Green MP Jeremie Van Eeckhout. “Actually, we should still thank the government for good governance. That’s the world upside down, of course, and it’s crazy to try to get away with that talk. ” At the same time, Van Eeckhout denounced the return to the old selection procedure. “The crisis has shown that provincial governors are important and that they should be tested on their competences and not on their party card.”
Chris Janssens (Vlaams Belang) called the return to political appointments “a bad thing for the credibility of politics in this country”, although he also emphasized that the provinces are an unnecessary level of government for the extreme right-wing group.
–
