Joachim Coens resigns early as chairman of CD&V

The position of Joachim Coens had been under heavy pressure for some time. A poll by VRT NWS and De Standaard is the straw that makes the bucket overflow. With 8.7 percent, CD&V becomes the smallest party in Flanders, smaller than PVDA. Coens, who only recently proposed a rebranding of the party at a members’ congress, now keeps the credit to himself.

Next Thursday, he will ask the party council to call new presidential elections more quickly. “I think it would be good to have clarity about leadership by the start of the new political year,” he tells VRT NWS. He himself is not a candidate to remain chairman. Coens became chairman of CD&V about two and a half years ago, on December 6, 2019.