Tom Ongena, chairman of Open VLD. — © BELGA
If Open VLD receives less than ten percent of the votes in the elections, there is a good chance that the party will go into opposition. Chairman Tom Ogena said this on VTM News.
The Flemish liberals have been scoring below ten percent in the polls for quite some time, even reaching a bottom rate of 7 percent. That is far below the 13 percent that the party achieved in the 2019 elections. In a debate on VTM News, chairman Tom Ongena said that “there is a good chance” that Open VLD will go into opposition if the party is also below ten percent in the June 9 elections.
Ongena was asked the question after a debate with PVDA chairman Raoul Hedebouw about socio-economic themes and defense. He did not want to give a definitive yes or no answer, but he still made it clear what his preference would be.
Of all the Flemish parties, Open VLD is the one that has currently been in government for the longest time. The party has continuously controlled the federal government for 25 years.
Just last week, presidents Sammy Mahdi (CD&V) and Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) launched a center-right axis along which they want to form the next government. That plan also includes Open VLD as a sister party of MR. Although this will not happen if the polls continue and Open VLD effectively receives less than ten percent of the votes. (pl)
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