The last day of veterans in Parliament: “I will discuss that exit compensation with my wife”

Kristof Calvo (Green) – 37, 14 years in the Chamber: “You don’t have to be 50 to count here”

At 37 you are an senior. How do you look back on your career as a representative?

“I started here in 2010 when I was 23. I am proud that I have shown that you don’t have to be 50 to count here. I quickly got stuck into files, for example about energy. I am most proud of the summer of 2020. Then I helped negotiate the coalition agreement to get the country out of an impasse.”

But that was quickly followed by your most difficult moment: you missed out on becoming a minister.

“It’s all part of politics, you don’t always get your way. Last summer I decided to quit. I resolved to work hard until the last day, but we did not reach the finish line on asbestos and party financing. I’m sorry.”

What are you going to do now?

“I hope that the Mechelaar will give me the opportunity to help manage the city in the coming years. I will miss the House, I remain a political animal. But it’s healthy to do something different. Although I certainly want to continue to use my voice and enter into the battle of ideas.”

What won’t you miss?

“It is time for more freedom for representatives. Due to coalition discipline, many debates have already been settled in advance.”

Are you withdrawing your exit compensation?

“I’m going to refuse part of my compensation anyway. She’s too tall and too long. And I will also use it to support projects to renew democracy. A structural solution would have been much better, but this is how money goes from the old political culture to building a new one.”

Servais Verherstraeten (CD&V) – 64, 29 years in Parliament: “Democracy is in trouble”

What legislative work was your icing on the cake for you?

“A legislative initiative is not an individual success, it is collective. In my 29 years in the House, I have tried to be a connector. Across the language border, and between majority and opposition. I have always dealt with political opponents as respectfully as possible. And I think, in all modesty, that I have succeeded to some extent.”

How do you leave the party and politics behind?

“The party is no longer as strong as when I came here. Although this applies to all center parties. That is an international trend. Democracy is in trouble and the next generation must try to overcome it.”

That is a pessimistic reading. Do you have confidence in the elections?

“I dare to hope that there is sufficient wisdom among voters. But I also have confidence in the next generation of politicians. Democracy is capable of a lot with outside pressure. Consider, for example, the corona crisis. Then politicians had to move more quickly.”

Are you going to withdraw your exit compensation?

“I’m not going to include an important part. My generation is still enjoying a pretty good transition period. I have discussed it with other colleagues and have decided that I will accept the less advantageous arrangements, such as those of younger MPs.”

Valerie Van Peel (N-VA) – 44, 14 years in Parliament: “Many MPs lack courage”

You were a visible member of parliament, but after 14 years you left disappointed?

“I never had the feeling that I had too little freedom. That is in your hands. I have not let the party restrict me. There are simply not enough people here anymore to work with properly. Many parliamentarians lack a serious dose of courage. Or it started to revolve around the wrong things: one’s own career or party. Something broke during the vote on the asbestos dossier. Every day since then has been one too many.”

What do you look back on with pride?

“Pride is a strange word. I am very pleased that we have abolished the statute of limitations on child abuse. An important social signal to all victims: recognition that they have been silent about this for so long and that it does not just happen.”

Are you leaving behind a more negative policy?

“The clapper has gone a bit. Socially and politically things are in a very bad place right now. We are at a crossroads and I hope that changes soon.”

How do you leave the N-VA behind?

“I feel like I’m letting people down after 15 years. But of course the party can continue to grow without me. She is combative.”

And more right?

“Luckily she didn’t stand still. But whether she has become more right-wing…”

In the field of migration, for example.

“What I don’t always support 100 percent is the tone. I have often made a different choice.”

You could follow the fall of the Michel government over the Marrakesh Pact from the front row. Was that the right choice?

“I maintain that we were in a government that did not work together properly. The Marrakesh Pact was an example of this. We should have made a different choice with Swedish, but the others saw it as a way to make us small.”

Are you going to withdraw your exit compensation?

“Yes, I’m not going to be hypocritical about that. I cannot count on unemployment compensation.”

Patrick Dewael (Open VLD) – 68, has been a Member of Parliament several times over a period of 40 years: “Parliament should be more assertive”

How will you feel when you close the door behind you?

“After forty years it has been nice, no matter how much I loved it. I have been everywhere: Speaker of the House, in the majority, the opposition, Prime Minister… Still, I think that parliament could stand up a little more. It’s a bit too much of the hype of the day. Members of Parliament look too much at what takes precedence on social media or in the newspaper.”

Will you miss it?

“In terms of atmosphere, it is incomparable with other professional categories. There was real camaraderie here in the 80s and 90s. Now it’s a little more distant.”

What work do you look back on with pride?

“I really enjoyed being chairman of the House. I also look back positively on my period as chairman of the committee on the terrorist attacks of 2016. Those attacks were a terrible shock. We then succeeded in getting the majority and opposition to vote unanimously on recommendations.”

Are you going to withdraw your exit compensation?

“I am entitled to 48 months of compensation, but I will voluntarily respect the new ceiling of 24 months.”

Koen Geens (CD&V) – 67, 5 years in Parliament after a previous ministerial position: “I will not promote the rightward movement of the party”

After a term as Minister of Justice, you had to return to parliament for the last five years. A step back?

“No, it’s a big mistake to see it that way. I had an incredibly wonderful time. People have seen that in me. For example, I am very satisfied with the new Civil Code. Very important for a lawyer like me. That hadn’t happened since 1804! As a member of parliament you do lose some comfort. But at the same time I had less stress. You can work more in the shelter.”

How will you feel when you leave?

“I want to continue working loyally for the party. I want to continue to support Wouter Beke as much as possible for the European list. But I’m worried. There is a right-wing shift coming in all elections.”

This is also a fact within our own party. Will you then happily participate in the campaign?

“I will not promote that right-wing shift. I can not do that. People know that I’m not so dramatically to the right. If you have a certain maturity, you are less likely to change your opinion. But the shift to the right is inevitable, even in the PVDA. It is a global phenomenon.”

Wouldn’t you have liked to have had a fair chance to go to the European Parliament now? You are now a list pusher.

“I would have liked to sit there. But that was a well-kept secret from my intimates. Look, I’m not that young anymore. I’m turning 67. If someone less than that age wants to jump, you have to moderate your ambition. But I do think I could have done something meaningful in the European Parliament. In any case, I will read a lot, write and continue to participate in the public debate.”

Are you going to withdraw your exit compensation?

“I don’t know the amount I will get. I’ll discuss that with my wife when the time comes. That gives me three months. I will look at that calmly, but what Mr. Dewael and Mr. Verherstraeten are doing gives food for thought.”

Meyrem Kitir (Vooruit) – 44, 17 years in Parliament: “It’s a shame I wasn’t guided”

For you it is a minor ending. You were unable to complete your mandate as minister and ended up without a party membership card.

“I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given in politics. It’s no secret that I’m disappointed with the way it ended. I regret that I was not guided or that I could better understand what I had done incorrectly. I have not made any political mistakes, am not corrupt and have not done anything criminal.”

What do you look back on with pride?

“I am satisfied with how, as a member of parliament, I have been able to add interim work. As a minister, I am proud of how we helped ensure that African countries could develop their own corona vaccines. This was not only good in the pandemic, but also means that they can acquire medicines on their own. Less dependent on the big pharmaceutical companies.”

Will you accept your exit compensation?

“I am going to accept it because I have no choice as an MP. We are not entitled to unemployment benefits. It’s a system that leaves me little choice. Although I would have liked to see it differently. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of political innovation.”

Maggie De Block (Open VLD) – 62, 25 years in Parliament: “Destroying is easier than building something up”

You served in parliament for 25 years. What are you proud of?

“I have worked in Social Affairs and Public Health. Then I became State Secretary for Asylum and Migration during a major crisis. But the voter rewarded me with a monster score of 25 percent. That is how I eventually came to the post of Minister of Health.”

What are you going to do now?

“No idea. I will continue to follow politics, albeit from the sidelines. I’m going to do something different with my life.”

Returning to Parliament after becoming minister, isn’t that a step back?

“The day you become a minister, you know that the day will come when you are no longer a minister. Moreover, I liked coming to the Chamber. When they asked me to lead the group, I was happy to do so.”

Work from which your party will soon reap the benefits?

“The opposition plays an important role in this. They always break everything down. I find that breaking down is easier than building something up.”

Are you going to withdraw your exit compensation?

“I can’t apply for that yet. Only when I become a Member of Parliament will I have three months. It will depend on whether I have found something else in the meantime. I stick to the rules.”