Marc Antoine Mathijsen announced on Monday his candidacy for the presidential election of the Committed, scheduled for June 22. He is the first declared competitor of the outgoing president, Maxime Prévot.
Marc Antoine Mathijsen had left the PSC in 2002, during its transformation into CDH, to found the CDF (French-speaking Christian Democrats). After a new stint at the CDH, he will run on an MR list for the 2018 municipal elections, before returning to the CDH again three years ago. “I am volatile, like voters but I have always been faithful to my values”, he assured this Monday at La Libreadding “to agree with 90% of the Committed manifesto” but regretting the lack of“Christian Roots”.
On the invitation sent to the press on Monday, for the announcement of his candidacy, Marc-Antoine Mathijsen notably mentioned the names of Joëlle Milquet, Benoît Lutgen, Catherine Fonck or Alda Greoli. Personalities whose absence from the congress of the movement on Saturday raised precisely the question. From there to support the new candidate? Not at all. None of the four people was actually consulted. Catherine Fonck had already confided all her surprise to Free: “I discovered my name on the press invitation. I was not aware. I am not associated with Mr. Mathijsen’s candidacy”.
Former President Benoît Lutgen, absent from the congress on Saturday due to local obligations, reacted to him via social networks, ensuring that he had not been informed.
Joëlle Milquet also reacted on Twitter, claiming not to have been consulted and even joking that “this candidate had already formed a dissent against me and the change of name of the CDH in 2002”.
The regional deputy and of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Alda Greoli for her part explained that her absence from the congress on Saturday was not linked to a lack of confidence in Maxime Prévot and the movement, to which she gives her full support. “Using my absence demonstrates the low credibility of this candidacy!” she adds, tackling Marc-Antoine Mathijsen.