He combined this with a strong belief in the free market economy. This includes strict budgetary orthodoxy. So strict, in fact, that Verhofstadt, 32 at the time and the youngest and most ruthless budget minister ever, earned himself the nickname “baby-Thatcher”. Because of this, the leader of a major trade union vetoed “the kid” from the government for some time. It was a blow to Verhofstadt, but one that made him the politician he was to become. Verhofstadt has always been Open VLD’s natural leader. Whenever he felt like it, he took over the presidency. Internally, he rarely met with opposition. In fact, within Open VLD, being close to Verhofstadt was always the cleverest of career moves. Patrick Dewael, a buddy dating back to student days, made it to Flemish minister-president and later federal minister of interior affairs. Guy Vanhengel, Marino Keulen and Bart Somers all acted as Verhofstadt’s spokesperson at some point and all were rewarded with ministerial posts. The same goes for the many people from outside the party, who Verhofstadt wooed to illustrate his party’s “openness”. One of the few people Verhofstadt never really controlled was Karel De Gucht, who he made party president after he became prime minister in 1999. Verhofstadt and De Gucht clashed bitterly in 2004 on the issue of the migrant vote. But before the rift, they formed a formidable troika with Patrick Dewael, which marked Open VLD’s high point. Now it’s time for the younger generation to take over, Verhofstadt says. Open VLD has lost the Flemish elections. It no longer moves people like it used to do. Verhofstadt has promised not to meddle in the upcoming vote on the party presidency. Except for one thing: he has called for candidates to have two running mates. Together they can form a troika, just like the old days.