Politicians on the 'other side' that you respect

[Insula Dei]

Okay, let's try this, past and former politicians mixed:

Guy Verhofstadt (VLD): Good Prime Minister who transcended his own political background ('the Flemish Tatcher') to become a transformational leader. 'Paars' was not an undivided succes, but still probably one of the better governments post-WWII.

Karel De Gucht (VLD): Great Minister of Foreign Affairs, great EU Commisioner. Very much not a coward.

Jan Peumans (N-VA): Good parliamentarian and generally on the right side of his party, though he still occasionaly pops up in frankly idiotic controversies. One of the few N-VA politicians I genuinely respect.

Steven Vanackere (CD&V): Generally very statesmanlike, which in the contemporary party is a rarity.

Hugo Schiltz (VU): would probably not even count as 'the other side', as he'd have almost certainly ended up in the SP.a had he lived some more years. Still, one of our greatest politicians.