“This leak of information will not have been easy for my party”

Former Secretary of State had to leave a month ago after discussing the reduction of VAT on gas and electricity and the associated excise reform. She had not yet factored in higher excise duties in the budget she had submitted to the European Commission, while De Croo insisted that the VAT cut is indeed budget neutral.

De Bleeker says he has received a lot of support from friends, family and even strangers. She’s made sure to keep busy because it’s “therapeutic” for her.

“I was able to place it, I did,” she looked back. She hopes that the many friendships she has made within Open Vld will survive all this turmoil. “I have been in the party for over thirty years. I know people in all departments. I also have real political friends. It is not clear whether Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is still there. She received “a few WhatsApp messages” from him after his dismissal.

“In good conscience”

De Bleeker deliberately stayed away, she says, so as not to interfere in the budget discussion. “It is now up to my successor (Alexia Bertrand, editor’s note) to have this discussion. I also wished him great success in this area,” says De Bleeker.

The former Secretary of State stresses that the budget is “not an exact science”. “You make an estimate of the budgets that are available and that are needed. There are different views and opinions on this. The budget has now been passed and now we have to move on.

When asked if she made a mistake, De Bleeker does not want to answer. “I made my decisions in good conscience and after careful consideration. It is not appropriate to reconsider everything afterwards. I now look to the future.

Despite everything, the relationship with her party remains good, she says. “The lines have always remained open. We continued to talk to each other and there is an understanding of each other’s point of view. Everyone realizes that it was difficult. It would certainly not have been easy for my party for a member of my cabinet to provide information. But there is also understanding for something: this person also worked very hard. A person sometimes cracks under such pressure.

De Bleeker also intends to remain politically active. “Political commitment is not a switch that you can turn on and off. This passion is still there and will remain there. I’m not going to throw this away for this one shot,” she says. De Bleeker wants to see how she wants to fulfill that commitment and what role she’ll take on in the weeks and months to come. She certainly isn’t ruling out being on a list in 2024.