Belgium's Green parties in crisis as they struggle to find new leadership
Belgium's Green parties remain in crisis more than 18 months after the last elections. The French-speaking Ecolo party has only two candidates for its federal co-presidency, while its Flemish counterpart Groen has yet to receive a single official candidature to take over the party leadership.
Samuel Cogolati and Marie Lecocq became co-chairs of Ecolo following the party's 2024 election defeat, but resigned in November after clashing on policy issues.
Former secretary of state Marie-Colline Leroy and former parliamentary group leader Gilles Vanden Burre are now the only two candidates for the federal co-presidency, the party announced on Monday. They are not considered political heavyweights: both failed to be re-elected to the federal parliament in 2024.
Groen is also struggling. The Flemish party lost ground during the most recent elections, finishing with around 7 per cent of the vote, and former ministers Tinne Van der Straeten and Petra De Sutter have since left. The party is currently without a chair following Bart Dhondt’s resignation on 12 December.
No successor has come forward since. Groen’s most popular politician, Brussels minister Elke Van den Brandt, is tied up in the Brussels government formation crisis. Other popular Groen members, such as Ghent alderwoman Hafsa El-Bazioui and Flemish parliamentary group leader Mieke Schauvliege, have declined the role.
Existential crisis looms
Both parties are finding it difficult to redefine themselves now that environmental issues are no longer at the forefront of political debate. Last November, Groen spent around 100,000 euros on a campaign presenting itself as an alternative to federal austerity measures. Ecolo, meanwhile, says it is pushing against "authoritarian" tendencies whose consequences will be borne by the next generation.
The parties’ strategies have had limited results. In a December poll by Het Laatste Nieuws, Groen dropped to 7 per cent, overtaking the liberal Anders as the smallest party in Flanders, while Ecolo attracts only 7.4 per cent of Walloon voters.
Chair elections are scheduled in March. Both parties acknowledge the stakes are high. "If we do not succeed now, we will end up in an existential crisis," a senior Groen member told VRT earlier this month.
#FlandersNewsService | Ecolo chair candidate Marie-Colline Leroy. © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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