Politico’s ranking of top European power players includes Brussels’ transport minister Elke Van Den Brandt

Brussels’ transport minister Elke Van Den Brandt has been included in Politico’s annual ranking of the most powerful people in Europe.

Politico 28 Class of 2023 is a prestigious list compiled by the European media’s journalists. It’s divided into different categories: the dreamers, the disruptors and the doers. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy tops the list as the most powerful person in Europe.

Van Den Brandt is the only Belgian personality to make the ranking. The Groen party politician features in the dreamer category and is labelled ‘the autophobe’ for “showing how the most inextricable relationships – Brussels and its love of cars – can be broken,” says Politico.

It lists her achievements in the Belgian capital as reducing the speed limit to 30km/h in most parts of the city, implementing the Good Move transport plan and making the Bois de la Cambre and some major thoroughfares more bike-friendly.

While praising her competence and clear communication, the listing outlines the ongoing challenges she faces, such as Brussels’ “squabbling municipalities” that are capable of reversing her actions. “But if she succeeds, other municipalities might be tempted to follow,” it concludes.

Photo: Elke Van Den Brandt presenting a new speed camera system in Brussels © Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck