On 26 October 2009, he became a candidate for the presidency of his political party Open VLD to succeed the transitional president Guy Verhofstadt.
After the dismissal of Jean-Marie Dedecker from the VLD, Hugo Coveliers, Dedecker and Boudewijn Bouckaert (and other Nova Civitas members) started negotiations to form a new right wing liberal party.
Like Jean Sarkozy, criticism has been levied over the perceived nepotism which led to his appointment at the age of 27 as the head of the electoral list for the Open VLD party in the 2007 federal elections for the province of East Flanders despite his lack of any relevant work experience.
Mayor Filip Anthuenis (VLD) was elected for a third mandate during the elections on October 14, 2012.