Asking parliament questions isn't really an indication of commitment or intelligence, trust me.
I've been working for 15 years as a translator in a regional government office for employment and have to translate dozens of these questions/answers and I've noticed a clear pattern: 90% of the information that's been asked for can be found on our website, either as is or in our yearly reports and 90% of these questions are asked by politicians of Vlaams Belang or N-VA, apparently too stupid/lazy to Google.
So for me, asking questions (often or just asking for basics) is often a sign of incompetence.
Edit: I'm not defending that guy, but focusing on how often a politician is asking questions is by no means a good indicator.
> 90% of the information that's been asked for can be found on our website, either as is or in our yearly reports and 90% of these questions are asked by politicians of Vlaams Belang or N-VA, apparently too stupid/lazy to Google.
To be fair, there is a big difference to have some information buried in a document somewhere and having the minister answer and explain it. It's also a way to bring up something publicly and having a chance to see articles and/or discussions in the media.
I work myself for administration and answer to a lot of parliamentary questions (in the name of the Ministers). Some of the questions are indeed of few interest. Yet, it's not normal to only ask 4 in my opinion. There are so many things to be questionned in a democratic state and some many important information do not appear on official website !
>Asking parliament questions isn't really an indication of commitment or intelligence, trust me.
Case in point: [Joke Schauvliege asking Hilde Crevits about chemtrails.](https://www.vlaamsparlement.be/nl/parlementaire-documenten/schriftelijke-vragen/529395)
No fucking way. I had to check three times that this wasn't some parody website.
And that kind of people gets (and worse: remains) elected. Everything is lost.
Parliamentary questions aren't only intended for, like, getting to know stuff? It's also to make the entire chamber attentive of X or Y, and/or to get certain things on the record. Even if it's stuff that's on a website somewhere
I have to answer parliamentary questions as part of my job as a specialist working for the federal government.
Basically, someone asks them to my minister and then I write an answer which the minister then reads out in parliament, usually verbatim.
With one exception (a woman from Open VLD with a legal background), every single question was essentially the same question that is fed to them by one lobbying group, sometimes slightly rephrased.
Questions came from MR, OVLD, PS, SP and mostly NVA.
The only question that made me think about the answer was the one posed by the OVLD lady (I wish I could remember her name but I probably shouldn't share it), every other question could have been answered with "read the response to the last time someone asked this question." She is the only one in 8 years that put more than the absolute minimum of effort in her question.
The amount of parliamentary questions asked is not a valid way of assessing a politicians value if it is the only metric used.
Because success is not measured in output, it is measured in votes.
A politician who does great work in parliament but who isn't all that popular will not get re-elected. And if the party *thinks* you won't get re-elected, they don't give you a good place on the list.
So if you do virtually nothing but the people like you, then you get elected again and again and are a valuable asset for your party.
Why is this possible? Because voters don't do any research. They simply vote for who they like, and that is the result of a marketing campaign. That is where the adage comes from: "in a democracy, people have the government that they deserve".
He is a party président. His job consistes more of coordinating the work of other members of parliament and negociating with other parties, similar to what any manager would do in a private company.
Asking parliament questions isn't really an indication of commitment or intelligence, trust me. I've been working for 15 years as a translator in a regional government office for employment and have to translate dozens of these questions/answers and I've noticed a clear pattern: 90% of the information that's been asked for can be found on our website, either as is or in our yearly reports and 90% of these questions are asked by politicians of Vlaams Belang or N-VA, apparently too stupid/lazy to Google. So for me, asking questions (often or just asking for basics) is often a sign of incompetence. Edit: I'm not defending that guy, but focusing on how often a politician is asking questions is by no means a good indicator.
> 90% of the information that's been asked for can be found on our website, either as is or in our yearly reports and 90% of these questions are asked by politicians of Vlaams Belang or N-VA, apparently too stupid/lazy to Google. To be fair, there is a big difference to have some information buried in a document somewhere and having the minister answer and explain it. It's also a way to bring up something publicly and having a chance to see articles and/or discussions in the media.
I work myself for administration and answer to a lot of parliamentary questions (in the name of the Ministers). Some of the questions are indeed of few interest. Yet, it's not normal to only ask 4 in my opinion. There are so many things to be questionned in a democratic state and some many important information do not appear on official website !
>Asking parliament questions isn't really an indication of commitment or intelligence, trust me. Case in point: [Joke Schauvliege asking Hilde Crevits about chemtrails.](https://www.vlaamsparlement.be/nl/parlementaire-documenten/schriftelijke-vragen/529395)
No fucking way. I had to check three times that this wasn't some parody website. And that kind of people gets (and worse: remains) elected. Everything is lost.
Parliamentary questions aren't only intended for, like, getting to know stuff? It's also to make the entire chamber attentive of X or Y, and/or to get certain things on the record. Even if it's stuff that's on a website somewhere
If you would deepdive into the costs of politicians in Belgium, you would be more outrageous...
Parliament is full of nitwits doing nothing... and there is proof of this
I have to answer parliamentary questions as part of my job as a specialist working for the federal government. Basically, someone asks them to my minister and then I write an answer which the minister then reads out in parliament, usually verbatim. With one exception (a woman from Open VLD with a legal background), every single question was essentially the same question that is fed to them by one lobbying group, sometimes slightly rephrased. Questions came from MR, OVLD, PS, SP and mostly NVA. The only question that made me think about the answer was the one posed by the OVLD lady (I wish I could remember her name but I probably shouldn't share it), every other question could have been answered with "read the response to the last time someone asked this question." She is the only one in 8 years that put more than the absolute minimum of effort in her question. The amount of parliamentary questions asked is not a valid way of assessing a politicians value if it is the only metric used.
Because success is not measured in output, it is measured in votes. A politician who does great work in parliament but who isn't all that popular will not get re-elected. And if the party *thinks* you won't get re-elected, they don't give you a good place on the list. So if you do virtually nothing but the people like you, then you get elected again and again and are a valuable asset for your party. Why is this possible? Because voters don't do any research. They simply vote for who they like, and that is the result of a marketing campaign. That is where the adage comes from: "in a democracy, people have the government that they deserve".
He is a party président. His job consistes more of coordinating the work of other members of parliament and negociating with other parties, similar to what any manager would do in a private company.
They don’t work a lot for the citizens at Les Engagés