“The party floats between what the militants and the voters want,” adds political journalist Bart Verhulst. “If you ask militants the question, the answer is clearly yes. He must return and play a role in the Flemish elections, they think. If they ask whether he will return, he will be laundered by the members.”
However, Vooruit itself must also take into account what the voter wants. “In that case, we often hear the analysis that it is not wise to bring him back, as the party would be constantly confronted with his statements.”
Since the party offered its members the option to leave the position of list pusher open for the time being, Vooruit seems to have made up its mind. “They think they have something to gain from him being on a list. In the last poll he was of course still the fourth most popular politician.”
