In Mons, the PS majority holds the mayoralty, but the opposition led by the “Mons en Mieux!” (MR) list is particularly tenacious. Within this opposition, Opaline Meunier stands out: a municipal councillor since 2018, a key figure of the local MR, and the most popular liberal woman in Mons since the municipal mergers, she firmly opposes certain lines taken by the Mons majority while pushing for greater progress on public transparency and sound management. She has just been given a mission by the Mouvement Réformateur: to support our elected representatives and local opposition branches in Wallonia and Brussels.
- In Mons, the MR opposition is now known for its outspoken tone. How do you strike the balance between a constructive opposition and expressing firm disagreement when a project seems unjust or ineffective to you?
The opposition strongly disagrees with many projects in Mons, that's true, and I'm often its voice because these projects essentially involve spending money the City doesn't have. It's easy to make citizens dream with Christmas lights and artificially keep the city centre afloat with massive public funds. It's much harder to create an ecosystem that lifts everyone up. We already try to point out unnecessary or low-priority spending. Encouraging better financial health is already being a constructive opposition every day. What we want to build with Mons en Mieux is a more pleasant City for young couples, families, the young people of Mons of tomorrow, not the short-term pleasure of “après moi le déluge” that characterises the current policy.
If I go into politics, it's so that tomorrow is better than today. Without an opposition in Mons, no one would be having this debate: under the same municipal policies, my son will not live in a more pleasant, safer or cleaner City of Mons than I did. He will not benefit from better municipal schools, nor better infrastructure. That is why we need to embody a break from the reflexes of the Mons PS. Encouraging better management today is not austerity. It is loving your children.
- As a Mons municipal councillor, you sit alongside MR President Georges-Louis Bouchez. How does this proximity influence your actions on the municipal council?
Let's say I had a good teacher (laughs). I joined the municipal council at 25 alongside him, second on the list and in electoral results. He therefore quickly entrusted me with responsibilities within our group, and I had to keep up with his pace, which, as I think the whole country now knows, can be truly relentless.
In practical terms, he has an instinct for “where” and “what” to check. The fact that he was an alderman also gives him an inside understanding of how the City works, and he's taught us to identify where the shoe pinches when building a project. That ranges from consultation with citizens to the award of public contracts... When you work alongside him, you have to put in the effort. You learn not to answer too often with “I don't know”, you have to work, learn, know, and not be afraid to make yourself heard. Working with him means learning and moving fast. And I think that's true for all our elected representatives, we've progressed ten times faster thanks to his presence in our group.
Generally speaking, it's easier to learn how to navigate when you have a captain who knows the course.
- If you could sketch the ideal city of Mons by 2030, what key words would come to mind? And how will you measure your impact during this term?
First and foremost, my first key word would be quality of life. Mons is a magnificent city, with the potential for a lovely Sunday family city-trip. But for now, let's not kid ourselves, we have a serious problem with cleanliness and a marginalised population in difficulty, which causes too many, often serious, incidents in the city centre. So an ideal Mons in 2030 would above all be a clean and safe Mons. It also means more attention for the villages of “Greater Mons”, too often the poor relations of the Collège. The second element is an educated Mons: we need to invest more in our schools and make them more attractive. The vast majority of our schools are losing pupils to other networks. That worries me greatly. The village school must be synonymous with community, connection, social cohesion, but also with quality and appeal. My impact would then be seeing our numbers rise again. Parents choosing our schools more often, deliberately and with conviction. Higher education in Mons is also a lever and an opportunity. Our young graduates must want to stay in Mons, want to start their families there. That won't happen without a pleasant, green living environment, where people live safely with good schools for all ages.
My impact during this term will be measured, as always, by the citizens. I trust them to identify the elected representatives who work for their City and those who simply sell them dreams.
- You were appointed by the Mouvement Réformateur as government commissioner for the Higher Schools and Higher Schools of the Arts. What does that mean in practice?
Above all, I see it as a role in service of sound management of the State.
It involves overseeing the proper functioning of the Higher Schools and Higher Schools of the Arts, acting in a sense as a representative of the regulatory and subsidising authority. In practice, that means monitoring the financial health of institutions, public procurement, attending governing bodies and checking that decisions are taken in accordance with the legal framework, as well as receiving certain appeals from students. It is an essential role, one that is very close to my heart, because well-managed higher education is education that shines and allocates every available euro as effectively as possible to our youth and the minds of tomorrow.
- The Mouvement Réformateur has just entrusted you with a mission with our local branches, as a kind of “Madame Opposition” for our branches and elected representatives. What will that involve?
The new team of the Federation of Local Representatives has just been renewed under Anne Laffut and Audrey Henry, two inspiring women who know local roots very well. I am coming in as reinforcement, coordinating an action to specifically support opposition representatives, whether individual MR representatives or a local branch. I am offering my services to anyone in need from the opposition benches. Some have just been elected, have recently taken up a substitute seat, or are less comfortable with the opposition role, or have a whole range of different needs. For all of this, I will go and meet them directly in their municipality, whether for support or training - I'm available from Mouscron to Tintigny, and from Jette to Couvin. I'm ready to work with the local government team to create a response to everyone's needs. (Contact: meunieropaline@gmail.com and 0479.12.97.05)