He acknowledged that their relationship had been strained following the formation of the Vivaldi government when the post of Deputy Prime Minister slipped away from him in favor of Petra De Sutter even as he took part in government negotiations. He expressed his “admiration” for the resigning president’s “investment and combativeness.”
But, in his eyes, party presidents play too important a role in Belgium. “We have to remove them,” he explained. Mr. Calvo referred to the Netherlands, where the power in a party lay more in the parliamentary groups, with the president taking more responsibility for the path followed by his political formation.
According to him, Groen can get a double-digit election score. The party is now “too modest” and needs to regain pride and self-confidence. “The Vivaldi must become a government of reform,” he added, before pleading, among other things, to accelerate the energy transition.