Sammy Mahdi elected as new CD&V chairman: “Our party needs to know what it stands for and it has to put its foot down when necessary”

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  1. **Sammy Mahdi is the new chairman of CD&V. This was announced on the party’s Family Day at Plopsaland. Mahdi was the only candidate and was elected with almost 97 percent of the votes from the voting CD&V members. He succeeds Joachim Coens, who stepped aside after a devastating poll. In his first speech, Mahdi stated that CD&V must now first and foremost make clear what it stands for: a community party that does not patronise, but protects. He sneered at the Vooruit party, the liberals and Groen.**

    Sammy Mahdi is State Secretary for Asylum and Migration in the current federal government. Two and a half years ago, he had to give way to Coens in the presidential elections, but now he is the only candidate to succeed him. With 96.86 percent, he has now been elected by the voting members of his party. “It is very nice to get a big mandate,” he addressed his party after the results were announced. “These are going to be very tough times, but I am happy that I can count on so much support. We’re going to put a patch on it, rest assured.”

    Mahdi now has to get CD&V out of the electoral doldrums. Coens resigned after the results of “De stemming” were announced, a poll by VRT NWS and De Standaard. It showed that only 8.7 percent of those questioned would still vote for CD&V – 6.7 percentage points less than the result CD&V achieved in the Flemish elections of 2019. CD&V would thus become the smallest party in Flanders.

    **Plans**

    Mahdi says he knows only too well how big the challenge is. “We have to be humble,” he addressed his party in his first speech as chairman. “We have to make sure that the party stands up again. That is not easy, because if you ask people what CD&V is or what Christian Democracy is, far too often people remain indifferent to our party. They don’t know exactly what we stand for, even though we have the best people. And as Christian Democrats it is important to know what the big challenges are that people face.”

    “People are worried about a world that is changing faster and faster, a world where it is harder for them to get their bills paid, where they feel that they are losing social connection. We, better than anyone, have to give people answers to those questions. That starts with believing in our ideology and knowing what we stand for, but above all: by putting our foot where it should be, drawing the line at times when things get difficult and when we, as Christian Democrats, say ‘This far and no further’.”

    For example, Mahdi believes that people are too “patronised by the government”. “If you look at recent times, I see that there are parties who think they have to patronise youth clubs and young people when they are at camp and may or may not be drinking a beer. There are parties that think they have to patronise parents who, after six months (parental leave ed.), still want to look after their child themselves instead of handing it over to the government.” The latter is a sneer at Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau, who wants children in daycare after just six months.

    “We as a party believe in responsibility: also for the teachers who work hard every day and with more responsibility and freedom can ensure more quality,” Mahdi continued. This was followed by a sneer at the Liberals. “We don’t believe in a world that liberals stand for: a world of individualism, selfishness, a world where everyone has to do their own thing.”

    As a “community party”, Mahdi also wants to protect people at times when they need it. “We want to protect people at the times when they need it: when young families struggle to pay their bills at the end of the month, when older people struggle to make ends meet with their pensions, when people work all year and still struggle to make ends meet because of rising energy costs and the more expensive shopping trolley.” And there Mahdi already draws a first line: “The index, one of the most important instruments for protecting people’s purchasing power, is not touched.”

    Mahdi then called on the other parties to show their colours. “Before the summer recess, we will put a tax reform on the table that will reduce the burden on labour. It will be up to the other parties to make it clear that they no longer want to be world champions in taxes on labour. Let us know!”
    Finally, Mahdi stressed that his “community party” is thinking of all generations. “We want to make the world a better place for people here and now, but also for all the generations that will come after us.” This was followed by a sneer at Groen. “CD&V is the oldest green party and we are the only sensible green party, we will not saddle the next generation with the debts of the current generation. We will make sure that the next generation is better off.”
    It will be announced on Monday who will succeed Mahdi as State Secretary for Asylum and Migration.
    Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

  3. Well, society has moved away from Christian values. So it’s going to be very tough for him. Look at the dissolution of the nuclear family. The societal shift from humility to arrogance. Everyone thinks they know it all, or rather that the political party they subscribe to knows it all. There’s not much individual thinking involved anymore.

    And we don’t have a community, we have hundreds of communities. There’s nothing that unites us all because religion is dead and politics is king. So that part is not going anywhere either. I doubt CD&V can even stay above the electoral threshold.

  4. 97 percent. Can we speak of a ‘stalinist’ score? Or are those kind of stupid remarks only to be used against the PVDA/PTB?

  5. The flemish George Bouchez, basically.

    Just like Bouchez, he is a weak man’s idea of a strong man.

    Reading this and what he’s said in the last days, the ideas he proposes do not work in a system where you have to take into account opinions of other people. Everything he’s said here isn’t optional. It’s all stuff you force on people who don’t want it.

  7. I thought Sammy Mahdi showed some potential in the beginning, but as Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration he didn’t seem to accomplish all that much. He turned out to be a bit of a _tsjeef_, which – in retrospect – was to be expected.

    I doubt he’ll be able to pull CD&V out of their proverbial sinkhole.

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