Meryame Kitir disappointed about retirement as Vooruit minister: “Never got a chance to explain”

In an interview on Radio 1, MP Meryame Kitir looked back on her retirement as Minister of Development Cooperation and Metropolitan Policy. Kitir stepped down from the De Croo government in October 2022 due to difficulties in her cabinet. “At no time was I given the opportunity to explain,” Kitir says now.

Meryame Kitir gave an interview to Radio 1 on the occasion of May 1. An important day for her, as she still considers herself a socialist, she says. However, she did not renew her membership of Vooruit and it was announced last week that she is officially no longer a member of the party. She will sit in Parliament as an independent until the elections, after which she will leave politics.

Kitir says she is proud of the path she has taken, from factory worker at Ford Genk to minister. “I have been given opportunities by my party, and I have seized those opportunities. I couldn’t have done that without the people who believed in me,” she says.

However, in October 2022, Kitir was pushed aside as minister after it became known that there had been problems in her cabinet. An investigation commissioned by the party showed that it was impossible to restore relations. Kitir, who had recently resigned from her duties due to “mental problems”, was never able to view that research herself and would not have been heard. She returned to Parliament in March 2023, but visibly struggled with the way the party had pushed her aside. At the beginning of July last year, she announced that she would quit politics completely after the elections.

“I am disappointed in the farewell,” she reflects on Radio 1. “I thought it could have turned out differently and I needed a long time to give it a place. At no time was I given the opportunity to explain myself, to defend myself, or to inspect the report that the party had ordered. Journalists were allowed to view the report, but not me. I would have liked to have been able to watch it myself and learn from it, because if anyone is self-critical, it is me.”

At the same time, Kitir thinks it is good that new people are entering politics and she says she never intended to stay in politics until her retirement. “It’s good to close the chapter. I would now like to use my expertise elsewhere. I am eager to start looking for a new job. I hope for something social. As soon as you step out of politics, you notice that there is still a very big world out there.”