Jan Jambon: “Flanders continues to govern the way expected of us”

“2023 will definitely not be a year of transition in the run-up to the 2024 elections,” Jan Jambon pointed out on De Ochtend radio show, in view of politics restarting after the Christmas break. “It would be a crime to stop taking decisions now. We will continue to govern this year to the fullest and take difficult decisions, the way we have in recent years.”

“We have taken a decision in every file tabled at the Flemish Government. That is also my main role as the head of government: to make sure that those conclusions are reached, that we can take difficult decisions,” says Jan Jambon, referring to Ventilus and the nitrogen agreement, among others.

Absolute top in innovation

With Flanders Technology & Innovation, Flanders is taking major steps in its ambition to remain the absolute top in research and development within Europe. “FTI must involve companies, knowledge institutions, the government and our citizens in the story of innovation. That is the only way to ensure our future. It must also strengthen the Flemish people’s faith in the future. We have huge assets at our disposal.”

Positive balance

The latest figures on exports and investments also show that the balance is positive. “In Flanders, we are succeeding in attracting many companies, although it also remains my job to negotiate with the federal government on measures that could be detrimental to companies. Every company that leaves is one too many.”

The left-wing criticism of Het Verhaal Van Vlaanderen is absurd

Jambon also returned to the left’s criticism of the TV series Het Verhaal Van Vlaanderen (The Story of Flanders). “I don’t understand that left-wing frustration. When it comes to identity and Flanders, the left gets upset. The criticism that this subsidy – EUR 2 million in a budget of almost EUR 600 billion! – is at the expense of investment in childcare or education, for example, is simply absurd. In childcare alone, we are investing an extra EUR 115 million this year.”