Brussels has been winning for several months for the Seniors MR of Brussels and its surrounding area, following the election of its new president, Christian Jammaers. Dynamic and ambitious in developing concrete actions for a more inclusive society for older people, Christian did not wait for the government to get to work. From the moment of his election, projects followed one another. Focus on a presidency set to be rich in achievements.
You have been elected for a few months now, and shortly after your election you did not hesitate to multiply contacts with the MR's internal structures to move things forward. Can you tell us about your journey within the Liberal Party?
As early as 1977, I got involved with the Jeunesses libérales of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre as political secretary and, with the support of Willem Draps, became the youngest secretary of the PL branch. I experienced an extraordinary period in which we went from 2 to 18 seats between 1988 and 2012, through in-depth grassroots work. During those years I held leadership positions in municipal non-profits such as Sportcity for 16 years, the House of Culture (W:Hall), and the neighbourhood centres of my municipality, while also building an international career as a corporate lawyer. In 2022 I decided to bring my experience to the Seniors, to define a strategy to support the regional and national bodies by identifying the main challenges and translating them into concrete actions at local and regional level within a Seniors Committee of Brussels and its wider surrounding area, where every branch/municipality is represented; I also take part in the National Seniors Committee chaired by Chantal Bertouille.
Local stakeholders praise your dynamism, which you demonstrate through well-crafted projects and fruitful collaborations. Can you tell us more about what you have already launched and what you plan to implement during your term?
My first initiative concerns the composition of our Seniors Committee of Brussels and surrounding area, so that all MR branches are duly represented by motivated delegates keen to take an active part in our debates, our projects and our think groups; indeed, my ambition is to organise a Blue Seniors Day for the MR Regional branch in the autumn, as part of Seniors Week and, to that end, we are setting up around a dozen working groups on specific themes: social participation, outdoor spaces, respect and social inclusion, freedom of lifestyle choices (housing, informal carers), safety of older people, mobility and transport for older people, civic participation (including work by pensioners, support for entrepreneurship and flexi-jobs), health, Sports and Culture activities, communication and information (digital, social media, etc.), succession planning, intergenerational solidarity with the involvement of the Jeunesses MR,… and the transmission of experience (mentoring, etc.).
You are fortunate to be president of Seniors MR Brussels and surrounding area at a time when liberals have taken over the position of Minister-President of the Region. It is a pivotal period, but also a great responsibility. How do you approach the next three years with the MR at the helm in Brussels?
I am very pleased that liberals are finally regaining their place in Brussels after 22 years! Our Minister-President Boris Dilliès and the solid team of the Brussels Regional branch will be able to leave a deep liberal mark on our Region, as more than 100,000 voters wished. The announced reforms on the budgetary and transport fronts are strongly demanded by residents, and particularly by Seniors, who make up more than a third of the population in several municipalities of the Region. They suffer greatly from the increase in property tax by certain municipalities, whether for their own home or for their rental properties, on top of their reduced statutory pension. To support local trade, flexi-jobs are a real boon for active seniors!