Georges-Louis Bouchez was a guest on Bel RTL's morning show today. The MR President addressed several burning issues currently at the centre of public debate. For him, non-Belgian offenders in our prisons must be deported.
While affirming that Belgium is not a corrupt state, Georges-Louis Bouchez acknowledges the emergence of dangerous situations. For him, it is essential to fight trafficking by severely punishing not only traffickers but also consumers. He stresses the need to set up effective therapies to help people caught in the grip of addiction. For him, mafias thrive because of consumers. We must fight this trafficking and punish consumers more severely.
The difficult situation facing police services was also at the heart of the discussion. For the MR President, several factors contribute to this worrying situation, including unattractive pay for officers, lack of support and recognition from the public and politicians towards law enforcement, and dysfunctions within the justice system. He calls for a thorough reform of these areas to strengthen the effectiveness of the security apparatus and ensure that justice truly dares to punish.
40% of prisoners in Belgian jails are non-Belgians. According to GLB, they must be sent back to their country and citizens should stop bearing this cost. The MR supports the need to return these individuals to their country of origin. Liberals advocate agreements with third countries, making development cooperation and the granting of visas conditional on the repatriation of foreign offenders. This position reflects a desire to restore balance in international relations and hold the offenders' countries of origin accountable.
On energy and the environment, Georges-Louis Bouchez criticises Ecolo and the comments made by their co-chair a few days earlier on the same morning show, calling them “wind sellers”. He warns against the illusion of renewables, stressing that their viability depends on drastically halving energy consumption, which is not sustainable under the current model of society. Instead, he defends an energy mix based on nuclear and renewables, arguing that the Greens' policies would inevitably lead to higher energy prices.
Finally, the thorny issue of taxation was also on the agenda. The liberal denounces the excessive tax burden in Belgium, arguing that taxing the wealthy often leads to their departure to tax havens, which ultimately penalises ordinary citizens. He advocates reducing public spending, increasing the employment rate and putting an end to what he calls “tax rage”.