#Stephanie #DHose #Bart #Pauw #present #programs #Absolute
Cries from the Wetstraat
Stephanie D’Hose (Open VLD). — © Bart Dewaele
Anyone who slips in the Wetstraat or ends up in the rumor mill will sooner or later end up in this section.
Rehabiliteren
The right-wing weekly ‘t Pallieterke is increasingly expanding its ideological palette. This week it brings an interview with the East Flemish party leader for the Flemish Parliament Stephanie D’Hose (Open VLD). As a cabinet employee of the then Minister of Culture and Media Sven Gatz (Open VLD), she was partly responsible for the creation of reporting points and action plans in response to several cases involving transgressive behavior. “But we have never thought about the second step, namely how to rehabilitate victims, but also perpetrators. How do you respond to this as a society, seven years later? The De Pauw trial was settled by an independent court. But as a society we still don’t know how to respond to it,” she said.
Changing majority!
The time had almost come. Open VLD has long found it crazy that drones cannot be armed in Belgium. However, there is no consensus on this within Vivaldi, the French-speaking parties PS and Ecolo are adamantly against it. But the liberals tried to get through a resolution to that effect at the last minute. There even appeared to be a (changing) majority in the Defense Committee on Thursday: Open VLD received verbal support from CD&V, Vlaams Belang, N-VA and Les Engagés.
Rehabiliteren (2)
D’Hose thought it was important that the documentary The Trial That Nobody Wanted about Bart De Pauw was broadcast, “because it gives society insight into the way in which transgressive behavior can sometimes have an insidious effect. And that sometimes it is simply not the intention of a perpetrator to do that.” The politician wants to conduct the debate “about the rehabilitation of perpetrators and victims in all openness. And as far as I am concerned, Bart De Pauw has really been punished sufficiently.” When asked whether he should be able to present programs again, she answers: “Absolutely. We do not live in a society in which we forget about perpetrators.”
No alternating majority
Ultimately, initiator Tim Vandenput (Open VLD) withdrew his tail. Perhaps he was reminded of the explicit agreement not to allow a rotating majority in the final stretch to the elections, in order not to spoil the atmosphere within Vivaldi. Suddenly, after two hours of debate, he decided not to put his own proposal to the vote. “I think minds need to mature,” Belga quoted his turn. “An incredibly missed opportunity,” responded MP Theo Francken (N-VA). “This is illustrative of the past legislature: liberals who allow themselves to be held hostage by green dogmatists.” Hendrik Bogaert (CD&V), present in parliament again for a change, responded in the same way.
