Vooruit chairman Rousseau is removing his Brussels faction leader Fouad Ahidar from the party bureau after a vote rejecting the ban on slaughter without stunning.
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After an emotional discussion, the Brussels Parliament voted on Friday on an ordinance proposal to introduce a ban on slaughter without stunning, just as has already happened in Flanders and Wallonia. It was exciting until the very end. Parliament Speaker Rachid Madrane (PS) even warned the public beforehand that it was not allowed to comment during the vote.
The proposal did not win a majority in the committee. That decision could have been reversed during the vote in the plenary parliament on the report of that committee, if a majority of the Brussels MEPs rejected the report, but it did not come to that. 42 MEPs voted in favor of the report, with 38 against and 8 abstentions.
The initiators – Groen, Open VLD and Défi – had tried to tempt a majority by linking the entry into force of the ban to a broad animal welfare code, so that the ban would only come into effect later and at the latest in 2025. It did not help.
Divided
It is striking how divided the votes were. The ordinance proposal was submitted by the majority parties Groen, Open VLD and Défi and was supported by the opposition parties N-VA and Vlaams Belang. Other majority parties PS and Ecolo largely voted to approve the report, rejecting the ban.
But the parties were also divided internally. At the PS, Véronique Jamoulle and Julien Uyttendaele voted in favor of adopting the report and the others voted against. Viviane Teitelbaum abstained from the MR. At Défi, six MPs voted against the report and four in favor. Ecolo also voted very divided.
We were especially looking forward to the attitude of Brussels Vooruit group leader Fouad Ahidar, the only member of the One.Brussels/Vooruit group in the Brussels Parliament who is also a member of Vooruit. who had the wrath of party chairman Conner Rousseau excited by announcing that he too would vote against the ban.
Intern debate
Ahidar used religious arguments for this: ‘I cannot and will not believe that God wants animals to suffer,’ he said in the Brussels Parliament. For Rousseau, that was a few bridges too far. He warned that there would be consequences if Ahidar stood his ground.
The vote in parliament had only just ended when Rousseau’s reaction became known. He expels Ahidar from the Vooruit party office with immediate effect, the first time a party chairman of the Flemish socialists has taken such a measure.
‘Animal welfare is important to Vooruit. We are in favor of a ban on slaughter without stunning. This position came after internal debate with many people and communities,” says Rousseau. ‘Internally there must be vigorous debate. We make a decision together. And implement that decision unanimously. Also in Brussels.’
That is the end for Rousseau. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. ‘We are continuing to work on purchasing power and people’s health.’
This brings an end to a very difficult period for the Brussels majority, the damage is enormous. Despite the choice to let MPs vote freely, the French-speaking socialists still resent the Défi for letting it come to a vote. Relations between Brussels PS party leader Ahmed Laaouej and Défi chairman François De Smet seem to have fallen to a low point. That also reflects on Prime Minister Rudi Vervoort (PS) and Animal Welfare Minister Bernard Clerfayt (Défi), who had put the ban on the table himself.
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