Ex-Jong VLD chairman Anthony Pierards switches to Groen (Antwerp)

A remarkable political transfer in the Antwerp district. Anthony Pierards leaves Open VLD and will stand for Groen from eighth place in the district council elections in the Antwerp district. “The story of Open VLD was no longer my story,” says Pierards.

Pierards was a member of Open VLD Antwerp for sixteen years. “As an asset as Antwerp Young VLD chairman and department chairman in the Antwerp district, but above all as a militant,” Pierards describes his role on Facebook. “But sometimes you have to admit to yourself that the story is no longer correct, that you can no longer find your place, and so you have to say goodbye.”

Pierards had therefore decided to quit the Liberal Party. However, it did not end his political commitment.

“People from Groen came to talk to me about the idea of ​​standing up for them,” says Pierards. “I considered myself rather left-wing within Open VLD. In recent years I discovered that I had a lot in common with Groen. I also negotiated for the party with Groen regarding the administrative agreement for the district. This party has achieved a lot in the Antwerp district. All this convinced me to take the step.”

Pierards hopes to be elected to the district council from eighth place. He has no ambition to become a district councilor. “There are plenty of suitable candidates for that job within Groen. Moreover, I already have a full-time job, so district councilors are really out of the question.”

Hard worker

The top three on the Green list for the district council elections in Antwerp had already been determined. The list is drawn by district councilor Femke Meeusen. Simon Verreet is in second place and Anna Touré in third. The party now further filled the first ten places with Pierards in eighth place. The list pusher is district councilor Tom Van den Borne.

Meeusen is happy with the arrival of Pierards. “I got to know him during the negotiations on the administrative agreement and it was already clear that we were close to each other in terms of content,” says the Green party leader. “Anthony is a hard worker and always closely involved with his neighborhood. The fact that he consciously chooses the district level, which is in any case close to the citizens, is to his credit.” (svw)