One of Belgium’s best-known politicians, a former party leader nicknamed “Steve Stunt” for his populist gestures, has been found drowned in a canal, hours after prosecutors announced he would stand trial for rape.



Robert “Steve” Stevaert, 60, had been leader of the Flemish Socialist party and a protege of Willy Claes, a veteran cabinet minister who was secretary general of Nato for a year before he resigned in a bribery scandal in 1995.

Steve Stevaert. Photograph: Public domain

Prosecutors in the eastern city of Hasselt confirmed that Stevaert’s body had been pulled from the nearby Albert canal in the early evening on Thursday after his bicycle was found nearby.

“We are assuming it is a case of suicide,” a spokesman said.

The bar owner had once been city mayor and, until 2009, regional governor. His introduction of free public transport in the 1990s prompted sceptics to call him “Steve Stunt”.



Belgian media said Stevaert had denied accusations brought against him two years ago by a woman alleging he had raped her in 2010 after they met on the set of a TV show.



A police inquiry had been kept under wraps until Brussels prosecutors announced on Thursday that a judge had ordered him to stand trial on charges of rape and indecent assault, the circumstances aggravated by the use of his position.

Elio Di Rupo, the leader of the French-speaking Socialist party who was Belgian prime minister until last year, said he was “shocked” by Stevaert’s death and urged authorities to shed light on all the circumstances.