David Weytsman, President of the Brussels & Periphery regional branch, reacts: “The socialist-communist model is already running out of steam after 18 months”
The Mayor of Molenbeek Saint-Jean, Catherine Moureaux, revealed yesterday the very worrying financial situation of the municipality. She explained, among other things, that she does not know whether the 2026 budget will be balanced. She also stated that she wants to work on longer-term structural solutions.
The Brussels MR condemns these statements. “We were promised good days, today it is dark days that lie ahead for the municipal finances,” says Gloria García Fernandez, MR group leader on the Molenbeek Saint-Jean Municipal Council.
For David Weytsman, this statement is a direct consequence of the choice made by the mayor after the October 2024 elections, when Catherine Moureaux pushed the MR into opposition in order to form an alliance with the PTB: “When a mayor publicly states that she does not know whether her budget will be balanced, that is a major warning sign. The PS and the PTB had promised different governance. Eighteen months later, they themselves admit that they don't know how to get Molenbeek out of the impasse. Governing a municipality is not about denouncing problems or demanding more money: you must be able to make decisions and keep your accounts in order. This confirms what we have been pointing out for a long time: in Brussels, the PS-PTB model always produces more spending, but never the reforms needed to guarantee the sustainability of public finances.”