Louvain, Friday 13 December, 8.20 am. It is still dark when MR President Georges-Louis Bouchez stands in front of the Christmas tree at the Catholic University of Louvain to give his first interviews to VTM and VRT. Indeed, later that morning he must be back in Brussels to negotiate the formation of a new government. But first, he meets Professor and political scientist Bart Maddens, who has invited him to give a lecture on “the power of a party president”.
We are in lecture hall AV 00.17. In his introduction, Mr Maddens presents the MR President as “the pope of the Rue de la Loi”. More than a hundred political and social science students, despite Thursday night’s festivities, are present punctually at 9 am to attend a one-hour lecture given in French. Attentively, they listen to the leading politician from Mons, who explains to them why political parties are essential: “They are indispensable to the organisation of a democracy, because they structure and organise political debate.”
Party presidents have played a key role in this regard over recent decades. They have become the embodiment of their party, a phenomenon reinforced by the media and social networks. “But they are democratically elected by their party members,” adds Mr Bouchez. These presidents are on every front: they set the guidelines, debate, negotiate and appoint ministers as well as administrators. They therefore hold significant power to appoint people and thereby extend their influence.
“Party presidents are like football coaches. They have to make difficult choices, build the best team and decide on the strategy. A victory is the team’s success. A defeat is blamed on the coach, who may be forced to resign if things go wrong,” he explains. In the elections of 9 June and 13 October, the MR won 30% of the vote, a historic result.