Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Dedecker (born Nieuwpoort, 13 June 1952) is a Belgian-Flemish politician for the N-VA.
In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate. In 2004 Dedecker ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament, after taking his seat in the Flemish Parliament, Dedecker was elected by his colleagues as a community senator as well. He was a member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD), before being expelled, and eventually sided with the N-VA party in November 2006.[1]
Dedecker became famous first for his long career as a judo coach, with his judokas winning an unprecedented number of medals (among them 4 times Olympian gold), and then for his common-sense approach to politics. In 2004, as a pure outsider, he won a wopping 38% of the votes for the VLD party leadership against the complete party establishment. He was expelled from the VLD though in October 2006.[2]
Within the VLD he was one of the members that favours breaking the cordon sanitaire around the Vlaams Belang.
In 2006 (as VLD member) he published a book, Rechts voor de raap, which became a national best-seller, even thriumphing the books by VLD prime minister Guy Verhofstadt.
After being expelled from the VLD, Dedecker looked into starting a new liberal party, which might have seen the involvement of Hugo Coveliers of VLOTT, and law professor Boudewijn Bouckaert.[3] He made it clear that he would not join the Vlaams Belang, the largest right wing party of the country. In November 2006, he founded the right-liberal thinkthank Cassandra.[4] On November 30, 2006 it was announced that Dedecker joined the N-VA, because it is difficult in Belgium to meet the electoral threshold of 5% with a new party.[5]
VLD exit
The 2006 Belgian municipal elections were a disaster for VLD, also in Ostend, where Dedecker was a candidate. In Ostend, they lost out to the Socialist Party, for which party president Johan Vande Lanotte was a candidate in the city. In the run-up to the elections, Vande Lanotte and Dedecker clashed severely, with Dedecker claiming that Vande Lanotte, as councilor and socialist party "strong man," made Ostend the "Palermo of the North Sea."[6][7] The local VLD party in Ostend, led by Bart Tommelein, does want to pursue a city coalition with the Socialist though. Dedecker however, stated, on the evening the election results came in, that the VLD with this result cannot be part of any coalition.[8] Two days later, the national head of the VLD, Bart Somers, intervened, by stating that Dedecker will be removed from the VLD.[9][10] Somers stated that in the last few days Dedecker has showed himself to be a "inveterate trouble maker who keeps on creating damaging battles in his own party."[10] Dedecker responsed soberly that "first they use me to attract votes in the local elections, only to put me on the street once the votes have been counted."[10] Bart Tommelein later on accused Dedecker of being "the largest Calimero of Flemish politics."[11]
It was not unlikely that Dedecker would step over to VLOTT, a party being led by Hugo Coveliers. Coveliers was also a VLD member, but got ejected when he clashed with then party head Karel De Gucht. He openly invited Dedecker to start a VLOTT division in West Flanders.[12] In an opinion article for De Standaard Coveliers wrote: "...I predicted I would not be the last one. There were still some independent minds running around that had to be tamed...Jean-Marie Dedecker goes out the same way: the party leader of the SP.A decides that the VLD has to bring a sacrifice, which the VLD executive eagerly fulfills...They thereby relinquish themselves of a tough contender. These corruptible politicians would simply not allow any criticism...There is no one left to oppose them now Dedecker is liquidated...With his liquidation, the VLD merges left, soon to turn left, to the left side of society. Far away from the original liberal voters and principles."[13] Coveliers claims he was ejected from the VLD on command of (then) Socialist Party (SP.A) leader Steve Stevaert.[13] Some believe the same thing happened to Dedecker, on command of the current Socialist Party leader Johan Vande Lanotte.[14]
Filip Dewinter, of the Vlaams Belang party, stated that the "VLD has become the Flemish counterpart of D66, a social liberal party from the Netherlands. For right-wing liberals, there seems to be no place anymore in the VLD."[15]
Image
File:Jerome.sitepic.355.jpg
Jean-Marie Dedecker and Jerome Angus Graham III, the Travelling Gnome
References
- ^ Template:En icon"Right wing Dedecker joins Nats". VRT Nieuws. 2006-11-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:En icon"Dedecker out for good". VRT Nieuws. 2006-10-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Jean-Marie Dedecker werkt aan een nieuwe rechtse partij, nu hij definitief uit de VLD ligt". De Standaard. 2006-10-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Dedecker probeert het met Cassandra". VRT Nieuws. 2006-11-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon""Niet samenwerken zou dwaas zijn"". VRT Nieuws. 2006-11-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Vande Lanotte wint, Dedecker stapt op". Het Nieuwsblad. 2006-10-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon""Vande Lanotte is baas ter land, ter zee en in de lucht"". VRT Nieuws. 2006-09-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:En icon"Liberals join coalition in Ostend". VRT Nieuws. 2006-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Somers: "Dedecker wordt uit de VLD gezet"". VRT Nieuws. 2006-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Template:En icon"Flemish liberals to throw Dedecker out". VRT Nieuws. 2006-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Morgen beter". Canvas. 2006-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Terzake". Canvas. 2006-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Template:Nl iconHugo Coveliers (2006-10-12). "Het offer van de macht". De Standaard.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon"Zwakste schaakstuk". De Standaard. 2006-10-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Nl icon""Dit kan politiek Vlaanderen hertekenen"". De Standaard. 2006-10-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)