Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of the Walloon Government, launched the Mouvement Réformateur's 2026 New Year greetings tour in La Louvière, stepping in at the last minute for Denis Ducarme, who was laid up with flu, not without sending him a message of speedy recovery. He recalled that he had already spoken in that very same hall when he was still president of the Jeunes MR of Hainaut, thereby underlining the road travelled and his loyalty to his grassroots commitments.
From the outset, Adrien Dolimont warmly thanked the activists present, noting that "coming to attend MR debates or conferences is becoming almost as complicated as crossing the E411 near Courcelles with 2 cm of snow and slick tyres", referring to the pressure, intimidation and attempts at chaos orchestrated by those who prefer to shout rather than debate. He denounced these "pseudo-defenders of democratic thinking" who seek to prevent members, young people, seniors and liberal elected representatives from meeting, and stressed how important it is, this year more than ever, to remain united and visible in the public space.
The Minister-President then praised the courage of being an MR member today, humorously noting that it is "no picnic", especially during the end-of-year festivities. Around the family table, the reforms carried out by the liberals fuel discussions: the two extra hours for secondary school teachers, early retirement, Inami quotas, Formula 1 in Belgium, the consumption of foie gras… and, of course, the famous "Georges-Louis Bouchez affair". Faced with these sometimes heated debates, Adrien Dolimont acknowledges that "being a liberal today is not the most comfortable thing, but it is the fairest", in the service of a more equitable society for future generations.
In a context where extremism is on the rise and defeatist views prevail, he is pleased that among liberals, disagreement can still be expressed freely and without taboo. But he warns: too often, these disagreements are fuelled more by fake news and lack of information than by facts and solid arguments. His major resolution for 2026 is therefore to "let information prevail". He invites every member to read the party's arguments, consult publications, posts and statements, check the facts and debate everywhere, all the time, inviting elected representatives to come and explain themselves in circles, clubs and conferences.
Adrien Dolimont then cited several telling examples of what he considers to be untruths perpetuated by the opposition. He dismantles certain slogans one by one: the "oxygen plan" that would supposedly "suffocate" the big cities, the reform of registration fees that would supposedly send property prices soaring, the alleged end of the Grand Froid (extreme cold) plan, and the idea that the employment rate would fall in Wallonia. For him, these claims are "completely false" and illustrate a strategy of frightening citizens, after decades in which money was made to "rain down as if it grew on trees".
In response, he calls on activists to be both attentive listeners and educators. The reforms carried out by the Walloon majority, he insists, aim to break the "we've always done it this way" mentality and put Wallonia back on track, with the ambition of making it a driving force in Europe over the next decade. Not to change, he asserts, is to risk becoming "old-fashioned", when the choice made by voters in June was precisely to break with inertia. He therefore calls for rejecting the narrative that would delegitimise the policy currently being pursued, and to be proud to be MR activists, bearers of a genuine social responsibility.
In conclusion, Adrien Dolimont urged everyone never to forget that "you always hear the crash of the falling tree, but not the sound of the forest growing". A metaphor to remind us that shouting, controversy and attacks make more noise than the patient work of reform, but it is precisely these reforms that will make the difference for Wallonia. He assured that his government, like all the governments in which the MR takes part, will need the support of activists in 2026, convinced that "we will achieve great things together". Then, in one last optimistic call, he launched his motto for the coming year: "Down with gloom! A happy and prosperous New Year to all!".