The Bureau of the Parliament of Wallonia is hanging by a thread. The case of the clerk, accused in particular of harassment and financial mismanagement, got the better of its president, Jean-Claude Marcourt (PS), who spoke exclusively on RTL info this morning. The situation is “in transition“, but he repeats that he will resign.
You are no longer the President of the Bureau of the Parliament of Wallonia?
“Formally, I still am, because we have to organize the transition. But as soon as it is done, I will resign from my post of president”.
Is it a matter of hours, of days?
“I have to see with the clerk the conditions under which we can ensure the continuity of parliament, and organize the meetings which must take place next week. We should not put a blockage, or cacophony, because we vote the 2023 budget next week”.
Why did you decide to quit?
“Because I found that we had completely left reason for emotion, and that the positioning game of the parties was harmful to the institution. To bring back serenity, it was better for the office to leave”.
Do you recognize a fault this morning?
“None”.
Neither personal, nor collective ?
“No, I don’t think there was any fault, neither personal nor collective. I think there was a runaway, a political use of a certain number of elements. There was probably errors, in the past, but not faults. In particular to give such a wide delegation, granted in the past. And probably an error of appreciation “.
You talk about a legacy, there was indeed a series of decisions that were made before you. But when you find yourself president of the assembly, when you are the head, de facto, of this clerk, don’t you have a responsibility of supervision, of control?
“The problem that started is linked to social relations inside the registry. We immediately took measures with Mensura, the external adviser. We did what was necessary for the management to be less authoritarian, and we We did it. And we never received the slightest complaint. At the turn of the summer, things deteriorated sharply, so I took the decision in 4 days to dismiss the clerk in charge of his duties , to regain serenity. The other facts are explainable, but I have asked the Court of Auditors to carry out an audit of the construction sites in progress. We will see what it will say”.
The trip to Dubai has been controversial for a few weeks…
“I was there at the express request of the conference of presidents, it is not a decision of the office, even less a decision of Jean-Claude Marcourt”.
You could have refused this trip if you did not consider it legitimate…
“I refused it, Mr. Solimando, and the group leaders said that it was out of the question for the parliament of Wallonia to be the only one not to be represented at this universal exhibition. So I accepted”.