Het regime van Bart De Wever reveals the secret of the slimming plan that saw the leader of the N-VA lose more than 50 kilos. “I don’t want to make a political thing of this,” he told the audience at the launch, far from the political arena in De Haan. He also said that he’s “not a crusader against obesity. Medical supervision is all that I have to recommend for such a diet.”

The royalties from the book, published by Davidsfonds, will go to the Zeepreventorium in De Haan, which tackles obesity among children.

De Wever’s political opponents, perhaps recalling his appearances on popular TV quiz show De slimste mens ter wereld, to which many attribute his success in the 2010 general elections, kept their distance from the media storm.

Sitting mayor Patrick Janssens, meanwhile, was appointed chairman of the jury for the 2013 AKO Literature Prize, the prestigious annual prize for Dutch-language literature and non-fiction. His predecessor on the jury, which will announce the 2012 nominations next week, is Jozias van Aartsen, a member of the VVD party, which was victorious in last week’s election in the Netherlands, and mayor of The Hague.