2023-08-19 10:55:00
In June, Hadj Lahbib (MR) was in the hot seat. Pointed out by the opposition, but especially by majority partners, for the role played by her ministry in granting visas to an Iranian delegation visiting Brussels, the Minister of Foreign Affairs came close to resigning. The liberal had to explain herself several times in parliament in front of deputies who gave her no gift. Benoît Piedbœuf, head of the MR group at the Chamber, looks back on this painful episode.
Benoit Piedbœuf deplores the “linguistic relaxation” in parliament: “Some have a coarse vocabulary”
“The attacks on Hadja Lahbib were lamentable. I was shocked to hear the way a woman was addressed. And those who defended [l’ancienne secrétaire d’État] Sarah Schlitz saying that what was happening to her was happening because she was a woman did not have the same kind of consideration vis-à-vis Hadja Lahbib. At times it was filthy. I was shocked. I’m not impressionable, but I was shocked at the behavior of some. Yes.”
Brussels – Federal Parliament: Benoît Piedboeuf (MR): Federal MP and group leader in the Chamber, Mayor of the municipality of Tintigny, President of MR Luxembourg ©JC Guillaume
The liberal deplores the way in which deputies Malik Ben Achour (PS) and Samuel Cogolati (Ecolo) attacked the minister. “We went beyond the level of political debate to attack the person because obviously, electorally, she was disturbing and she will be disturbing. The N-VA, DéFI and the PTB were well back and they had the opportunity to show it. But they remained relatively measured in tone and form. The PS and Ecolo, on the other hand… It was amazing. I didn’t know them like that.”
For Benoît Piedbœuf, the fact that Hadja Lahbib, Schaerbeekoise and rising star of the party, came from rather left-wing backgrounds, that she carried this image of diversity and that she “worked well” represented a danger for political competition in Brussels. . “The release of Olivier Vandecasteele has only strengthened his aura. But that, compared to the Brussels electorate, for some, that represents a real danger. We had to shoot her.”
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