{"id":492094,"date":"2026-01-04T16:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/492094\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T16:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:18:09","slug":"belgian-pms-cat-maximus-is-social-media-star-with-subliminal-political-message-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/492094\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgian PM\u2019s cat Maximus is social media star with \u2018subliminal political message\u2019 | Social media"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly 15 years, Britain\u2019s Larry the Cat<\/a> has charmed visitors to 10 Downing Street. Now another prime ministerial pet is proving a social media hit in Belgium.<\/p>\n

Maximus Textoris Pulcher was announced in August<\/a> as an official resident at the Belgian prime minister\u2019s office, Rue de la Loi 16 in central Brussels.<\/p>\n

The grey rescue cat is now thought to have the second most popular political account on Belgian social media, with more than 142,000 followers on Instagram<\/a> \u2013 second only to his master, Bart De Wever, who became Belgium\u2019s prime minister<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n

The cat\u2019s full name is a mock-grandiose title rooted in the prime minister\u2019s love of Latin and Roman history, conveying the meaning \u201cDe Wever\u2019s beautiful Maximus\u201d (textoris being \u201cof the weaver\u201d, or De Wever).<\/p>\n

De Wever adopted the cat, an abandoned Scottish fold<\/a>, from a refuge. \u201cI have a cat in my office, it is grey and it does not catch \u2026 mice, but I love it anyway,\u201d he told journalists during a recent press conference.<\/p>\n

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Maximus\u2019s posts on Instagram have lit up the Belgian internet, whether he is stretching for a toy, lolling on a windowsill or being tickled on his chest<\/a> to an electropop <\/a>soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\u2018What is this I see here?\u2019 asks Maximus, looking at an image of Bart De Wever meeting Keir Starmer \u2013 and Larry, the Downing Street cat. Photograph: Instagram<\/p>\n

Unlike Larry, officially an apolitical cat, Maximus offers subtle observations on his country\u2019s political life. \u201cAnother strike,\u201d reads one Maximus thought bubble<\/a> on the day Belgium began a three-day national action in November against proposed spending cuts, hinting at the exasperation of his master. In another post when De Wever\u2019s eclectic five-party coalition was locked in budget talks, a grumpy-looking Maximus lies on the floor with a thought bubble reading: \u201cEven on Sunday, these nuisances [cabinet ministers] are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A source close to De Wever \u2013 described as \u201ca cat person all his life\u201d \u2013 said the account was a low-effort part of his team\u2019s work and offered the public a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Rue de la Loi 16.<\/p>\n

\u2018Even on Sunday, these nuisances [cabinet ministers] are here.\u2019 Photograph: Instagram<\/p>\n

Prof Dave Sinardet, a political scientist at the Free University of Brussels, said the account fell in the long tradition of politicians being portrayed with animals to show an appealing side.<\/p>\n

This was especially true, he said, for De Wever, \u201cwho is perceived as quite competent, as a strong debater, as someone with clear ideas, but maybe as a less warm person \u2026 It can help to reinforce his warmer side.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Maximus account had \u201ca subliminal political message\u201d, Sinardet said, citing the frequent posts of the prime minister reading papers at night next to his cat. \u201cVery often you see Bart De Wever as a hard worker, he is doing his best, he is working on Saturday night.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Wever, the first Flemish nationalist prime minister of Belgium, is known for his dry humour and has long used social media to share curated images of a seemingly unpretentious everyday life. His own Instagram account<\/a> shows him taking a tram and ironing a shirt in a Copenhagen hotel before an EU summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The account \u201calso creates a positive vibe\u201d for people who find politics boring or conflictual, although Maximus played into that, said Sinardet. In one picture, showing Maximus outside the window of a cabinet meeting, the speech bubble reads: \u201cAnd they complain about my mewling.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the running gag is that Maximus is the real boss, the cat may ventriloquise De Wever\u2019s own thoughts. \u201cCongratulations, you are a hero,\u201d Maximus tells De Wever, the day after a hard-fought EU summit<\/a>. While the joke is that the cat is buttering up his master for more attention, it also suggests De Wever saved the day.<\/p>\n

\u2018Congratulations, you are a hero!\u2019 Maximus tells De Wever. Photograph: Instagram<\/p>\n

But politicians who complained about Maximus\u2019s posts did not usually win public sympathy, Sinardet suggested. \u201cThat only reinforces De Wever because they come over as sour people \u2026 when, this is, supposedly just a funny, positive cute cat account.\u201d<\/p>\n