Politics and alcohol do not mix in Belgium

Letter from Benelux

According to the West Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office, the matter should, in principle, be resolved through dialogue and an apology. Conner Rousseau, then head of the Flemish socialist party Vooruit, escaped a trial in September 2023 that would have undoubtedly punished him for comments he made about Roma while drinking. As he had appointed them “Brown men ” only that “Frequent use of canes” can be forced “Respect”. Enough to surprise the police officers of the city of Saint-Nicolas, who were called to silence the noise of the night by a pretty boy from Belgian politics.

As soon as this incident came to light, the press christened him “King Kona”, the common name “Chatte Koner” – the drunken Koner – applied to anyone who was now drunk and no longer controlled their words. In November 2013 Connor Rousseau resigned as head of his movement.

The ambitious young man – who became president of Voorut in 2019 at the age of 26 – responded “Why not?” When he was questioned about the possibility of him one day becoming head of government, he was forced by the courts to visit the Holocaust memorial, undergo therapy and dialogue with the Roma community to assess the meaning of his words.

Problem: Com, the country's main Roma association, has decided to withdraw from the practice. She won't accept an apology because she doesn't know the full extent of what Connor Russo said on the famous evening when his life went off the rails. At this time, the justice system is refusing to release the entire file and has not commented on the possibility of a criminal trial, with the proposed mediation seemingly doomed to failure.

“I'm not a robot”

This incident, in any case, will reopen the question of the relationship between Belgian politicians and alcohol. Popular national humor is a broad subject that always brings into perspective, while we don't count tragic episodes involving leading politicians.

So, in August 2023, former Secretary of State Theo Franken, clearly drunk, was photographed urinating on a boulevard in the center of Brussels. “I am only human, with gifts and faults; I work hard, people who don't like me can vote for someone else.”, the person concerned justified himself. Echoing the words of Connor Rousseau, he agreed: “I'm not a robot.”

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