This morning, Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs (MR) was on the set of LN24 and answered questions from journalist Martin Buxant. Asked about the fact that Prime Minister Alexander De Croo wishes to show solidarity with the population by reducing the annual salary of ministers by 8% as a sign of the crisis contribution, the minister defended the proposal by explaining that she had no taboo on this subject. “It is a proposal which is on the table and which has not been adopted at all, but I do not think that is what will make it possible to stem inflation.“, details Hadja Lahbib. “This is to set an example but why stop only at the political world? I think there are entrepreneurs who earn a much better living still“, asserted the Minister.
For Frédéric Chardon, the remarks made by Hadja Lahbib are surprising for a minister belonging to the MR. “I remind you that she was labeled as a left-wing journalist when she was still at RTBF and before Georges-Louis Bouchez, the president of MR, came to poach her to transform her overnight into Minister of Foreign Affairs .
We remember that during the press conference announcing her appointment, Hadja Lahbib had announced that she was neither left nor right but fundamentally free. So she refused to admit in front of everyone’s eyes that she was a liberal. There have been quite a few articles on this subject. In this interview, she takes the opposite view of liberal philosophy by announcing that the State can require heads of private companies to reduce their salaries. She therefore did not understand the concept of free enterprise and the fact that it is the shareholders who decide the salary of the bosses.
Today, the party again suffers from this vagueness. The Socialist Party has also seized the opportunity to recall that this is a solution that it largely defends.
The MR reacted to the words of the former journalist by denouncing the lack of distinction between private and public money. David Clarinval (MR) believes that companies and public authorities should not be confused. However, he specifies that he is not against the idea of making an effort on his salary while being aware that this measure will not be sufficient to save the budget. “These are modest amounts in the face of the problem of the budget deficit. The track is possible but it raises the question of indexation in general. It is for this reason that we insist on not paying contributions for the employer on the indexations which are planned“.
The Minister of MR also argues that this is a symbolic measure given that these few thousand euros will not be able to change the overall orientation of the budget.
Political scientist Dave Sinardet points to the fact that his remarks are part of problematic political communication. “Involuntarily and no doubt under the stress caused by the numerous attacks and in particular her trip to Crimea, she reaffirmed that she was not clearly part of the MR family. This situation fuels conflicts within the party since some still do not understand not that we were able to get someone from the outside when others were candidates”.
Frédéric Chardon recalls that everyone has the Brussels elections of 2024 in mind. Bertrand and David Leisterh. She could therefore create a lot of trouble internally, which is already the case since Alexia Bertrand dreamed of the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. There is therefore a malaise that does not pass within the party.
For Martin Buxant, the word of Hadha Lahbib questions the opening of the liberals towards the center of the political spectrum.