On the occasion of traditional new years wishes, Georges-Louis Bouchez, the leader of Mouvement Reformateur (MR), ALDE member party in Belgium, declared a year of renewed fight against populism and pledged even closer collaboration and a series of joint events with sister party OpenVLD to be organised as part of its 175th anniversary celebrations. MR is the oldest party in continental Europe.

Speaking at a virtual event on Sunday 10 January, he said: “It is time to proclaim freedom and liberal democracy when we see the rise of populism. There were the events in the USA this week but the problem is not Trump alone. When he leaves office, populism will remain. Trump is a very violent and visible symptom of what populism is. But it is not enough to look to the United States and believe that we are totally free from blame. In our country, populism is also present.”

Egbert Lachaert, the leader of OpenVld, also an ALDE member party in Belgium, delivered a video message in French in which he said the links between MR and his sister party “are stronger than ever” and echoed the call to “defend our values ​​and our democracy against the populists of the left and the right.”

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