Bart Tommelein (Open VLD) will no longer be mayor of Ostend from the beginning of December. “I’m going to look for work now,” it sounds. What the future holds for the liberal, he told in De Tafel van Gert.
“It was quite loud,” said incumbent mayor of Ostend Bart Tommelein (Open VLD) on Tuesday evening in De Tafel van Gert. “It was very intense. Not just for myself, but for all the people around me. For my family, my employees, but also my fellow list members.” Tommelein’s election list, Proud of Ostend, received 19.3 percent of the votes on Sunday. But that was far too little to gain the right of initiative and retain the mayor’s sash. John Crombez (Vooruit Plus) achieved no less than 38.6 percent with his list and will become the new mayor of the coastal municipality.
“Of course it hurts. But people have cast their votes. I don’t have to be ashamed. I did what I had to do. They want a different mayor, they get a different mayor. I have to accept that,” he said. “I had taken into account that the socialists would come back strongly. I had looked at the June results. You didn’t really see that there yet and then you have a little hope. You always have to keep going. For the people on the list with you. And I sensed that the tide was turning a bit. But the results were definitely not good.”
Farewell and future
Tommelein (62) also immediately announced his retirement from politics on Sunday evening. “Because at some point you have to take responsibility. You went to the voter with a list and the voter did not reward you. Then you have to draw your conclusions.” Tommelein said that his list can certainly enter into discussions with the victors, but that it will be without him. “I felt like an obstacle there.”
Has a burden been lifted from his shoulders? “Of course I’m still disappointed. But after 25 years I think I have the right to be there for my children and grandchildren. I still want to do something else. But I really want more time for my surroundings. Because politics absorbs you.” There are no concrete plans for the future yet, he says. “I’m going to look for work now. There are people who want to drink coffee or have lunch. But a concrete plan? No, it isn’t there yet.”
Tommelein did indicate that he will still remain a member of Open VLD. “I am a convinced liberal. I have also already indicated to Eva De Bleeker (chairman of Open VLD, ed.) that I also want to do things behind the scenes,” he said. And that also applies to Ostend. “My city can always count on me. Also outside politics.”
