The deputy leader of Belgium’s ruling party has been placed in an isolation chamber after he tested positive for the “sexually transmitted virus” HIV.
Although he refused to give his name, the unnamed Belgian politician revealed to the Telegraph the result of an HIV test following an affair with an “openly homosexual” man.
“My political career was something that I had worked to achieve, and that the government supported, and now I find myself taking part in this discussion in isolation. I have no intention of withdrawing my candidacy from the election. My goal is to do the best I can for my nation,” he said.
After the revelation, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel admitted that his deputy speaker of the parliament, Christophe Castaner, had carried out the affair. But Michel dismissed claims that Castaner should step down from his current position.
“These allegations come in the middle of one of the most difficult situations we are facing in Belgium. We are going through an economic crisis, a banking crisis, an uncontrolled refugee crisis. Charles Michel does not fear anything,” a government source told the Daily Mail.
Castaner is President of the European Parliament Delegate Council and currently serves as the Council of the Democratic Party (CDM).
“The Belgian prime minister should clear up this issue today,” the CDM source added.
Castaner was elected Deputy Speaker on June 8, 2016.
According to the Telegraph, Castaner, 44, has always been highly outspoken.
“It is time for more sexuality in politics,” he told the social-media platform Viikara on December 8.
Castaner reportedly graduated from the Université Marocaine de Sciencein Belgium and became a chemical engineer.
He is running to become the next Prime Minister when Michel’s term ends in 2022.
The Prime Minister himself told the press that “a story like this has never before been discussed.”