Talk:Willy Claes

Cut statement
This allegation was unsourced: "In the 1970s he was very probably involved in oil deals corruption among other things." Biruitorul 00:09, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Dilemma

I find myself in a dilemma here. The suggestion that he accepted 50 million francs for his party is unsourced, and most likely false. During his tenure as economics minister, he was present at a meeting with other top flemish socialsts, during which de party secretary said that Agusta had offered money to the party. This was immediately rejected by all participants. At that time, accepting donations from private companies was not yet outlawed. The party secretary however, unknowingly to other party officials, accepted the money. Because he kept the money out of the books, it is not known exactly how it was used, but it is very unlikely that Willy Claes even knew about it. The question that rises is: why was Willy Claes convicted? The most likely answer is that, in light of the public outrage, at least one head had to roll, and Willy Claes was the easiest one to sacrifice, as he was less involved in national politics at that time. His case went directly to Belgiums highest court, wich convicted him without having any firm evidence, but instead stated that "it was the courts intimate belief" that he had accepted money for his party. This in itself is a questionable practice, and it raised the question wether this court, who's convictions can't be appealed, itself had been politicied. Now here is my dilemma: i'm certain that the present text is incorrect, but i can't reference my correction either. Can anyone please look for a good -preferrably english language- reference please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.253.160 (talk) 17:27, 3 May 2009 (UTC)