More city councilors quit politics: Brecht Warnez wants action

Brecht Warnez from Wingene has been hammering for some time on strengthening the city council. “If we want to continue to convince people for local politics, the municipal councilors must have more to say. Through them, citizens must be able to weigh more on policy,” says the CD&V member, who has therefore developed a 10-point plan.

query

He himself conducted a survey among 806 city council members. It shows that one in three municipal councilors will stop or do not yet know whether they will be a candidate in the municipal elections at the end of next year.

Moreover, of the 7,398 elected councilors in 2018, 1,172 have already retired today – good for 16 percent. It concerns 645 men and 527 women. Of these, 188 councilors are under the age of 35.

Limited impact

It also appears that two out of three believe that their impact as a municipal councilor is too limited. No less than 80 percent want Flanders to take further initiatives to strengthen the municipal council.

In his ten-point plan, Warnez advocates giving city councilors more impact, time and support. This includes the granting of political leave, which varies widely today.

For example, he wants every municipal councilor – depending on the size of the municipality – to have two to four days of political leave with a replacement income such as parental leave or palliative leave. “As a municipal councilor you take on a social commitment. It is therefore logical that, as with parental leave, you can also take full leave for this and free up time for it.”